The Haunted and The Hunted
by DragonHorizons
Summary: Sasha and her family have moved to Lavender Town as her father has been assigned to research the area by Professor Oak. A dark faction has risen in the lands of Kanto and Johto bent on destroying those they deem a threat to Pokémon worldwide. This is the first of many chapters to come. As long as people seem to be enjoing the story it will continue to grow. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Prelude

A Haunted Road

The moon was high as a group of teenagers walked through a small forest located between Saffron City and Lavender Town. The group, four girls and 3 guys, were from Saffron City, and were out on a dare to see who could last longer in the forest as the rumor was this particular area was haunted. It was no fun going into the Pokémon Tower anymore because the Pokémon Master, Red, had cleared the ghosts haunting the tower and the place was now just eerily quiet. The guys in the group thought the whole thing was stupid, but were happy to be outside since it had stormed the last couple days, and for a chance to show how brave they were.

Two girls fell a couple steps behind the group, giggling and whispering to each other.

"Did you hear what Allan from school did?" one girl whispered excitedly.

"No, what did he do?" another asked.

"He totally asked me out today!" she could barely contain her excitement.

Both girls squealed and giggled and rejoined the rest of the group that had gotten a couple steps ahead of them, they didn't notice the dark shadow that was following the group through the trees.

The shadow soundlessly moved from tree trunk to tree trunk, it was low to the ground and kept an even distance from the teenagers. If the kids had been looking around they may have spotted the shadow.

The teenagers came to a stop as a small group of clouds lazily blocked the moonlight.

"Alright everyone," the tallest boy who was in front turned to face the group, "This is the spot that people have said they have seen ghosts. I don't know about the rest of you, but I have not seen anything out here, not even a Pokémon."

The others in the group all murmured and nodded in agreement.

"Now we just…" his voice trailed off as he squinted into the darkness. He thought he had just seen movement from behind a tree. He rubbed his eyes and turned back to his friends, they had all turned and looked when he had stopped midsentence.

"Did you see something Dale?" one of girls asked with a slight quiver in her voice.

"Well, I thought I saw something, but it must have just been a shadow from the moon or something," he cleared his throat, "Nah, it was nothing. Let's just keep walking." He turned around and found himself staring into two large white eyes.

"GHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The sound shattered the quiet of the night and the teenagers. They all turned completely pale and ran back in the direction of Saffron City, each one running their separate ways back to their homes.

The eyes watched the dust cloud settle, left from the terrified teen's quick escape. The eyes looked up at the sky as the wind picked up and blew away the clouds. A big grin spread across the creatures face and then it disappeared.

Chapter 1

It's Just Not Proper!

Sunlight began peeking through blinds as the sun rose up over the ocean, glistening across the waves rolling up against the cliffs. The residents of Lavender Town were just beginning to stir from their beds and getting ready to begin their quiet day.

A large house, roughly a mile or two south outside of town, sat by itself surrounded by gardens filled with exotic plants, spices, flowers, and a few trees, there was also a greenhouse and small shed on the property as well. The house faced Route 12 with the ocean behind it. The house was two stories, red bricked, had white shutters which adorned six windows that faced the front of the house, then six that faced the ocean, and there were 4 on each end of the house, and finally a black sloped roof. A heavy oaken door with flowers carved into it stood in the entryway. All the floors were hardwood floors, a light brown in color. There were 5 rooms on the first floor and 5 rooms on the second. The first floor rooms consisted of a living room, bathroom, dining room, kitchen and bathroom. The second story consisted of three bedrooms, a bathroom, and an office.

A 15 year old girl slept soundly in her bed, oblivious to the rising sun. She had long jet black hair with a portion of her hair hanging over her face which was colored bright green. Her skin was slightly tanned from spending time outside.

"Sasha...Sasha? Are you going to wake up sometime today darling?" a spritely voice called from downstairs.

The young girl groaned and pulled a blanket over her face, shielding herself from the sun beams entering the room, and hopefully her mother's voice threatening to end her slumber.

"Sasha…Sasha Sa-Rya! You really must wake up, the sun is shining gloriously and it reflects of the morning dew in the garden like diamonds!"

Sasha groaned again and pulled the blanket away from her face.

"Yes mom, I'm awake," she answered groggily.

"Oh splendid! I was hoping you would run into town for me and pick up some more of that growing formula. It is absolutely wonderful in helping my little plants grow!"

Sasha couldn't help it, "You mean the Pokémon poop?" she asked with a giggle.

"Oh!" her mother's voice was filled with disdain at Sasha's choice of words, "Goodness Sasha, must you really use that sort of language? Growing formula is much more suitable term for a family of our refinement. Oh, how I wish we still lived in Celadon City, such a city of refinement and propriety…"

Sasha heard her mother sigh and then the front door closed as her mother went out to care for her beloved garden.

Sasha's family had moved here when her father, who had been a student under Professor Oak, the famed Pokémon researcher, had been given an assignment to study the Pokémon habitats in the area surrounding Lavender Town. Her father had a keen interest in water Pokémon and had jumped at the chance to be close to the ocean, especially the sea caves which were nestled at the bottom of the cliffs. Her mother while at first not wanting to leave Celadon City was all for it when she discovered Sasha had been hanging around the Pokémon gym and talking to trainers and gym members and that Lavender Town did not have a Pokémon gym.

"No daughter of mine is going to go traipsing about the countryside, getting into trouble, and wasting her wonderful talents with gardening if I have any say in it!" her mother had said when she found out about Sasha's activities.

Sasha had begun to argue, but while she knew that her mom had her heart set on her daughter taking over her business at some point and that arguing would be useless.

Her mom was a professional perfumer in the city of Celadon and had a master's degree in environmental chemistry. Her perfumes were sought out by people all across Kanto and she was in the process of developing contacts in Johto to really expand her business.

"Alight," she let out a small sigh "I guess I'll get up."

She stretched as she pulled the covers away and placed her feet on the floor. Both feet shot back up as quick as lighting.

"Eek!" she squeaked, "That floor is cold!"

She tentatively placed both feet back on the floor, gritting her teeth as the cold sent shivers up her spine. She looked around her room. She was sitting on a queen sized bed, way too much bed her but her mom insisted that they get her at least a queen size bed, a vanity and dresser were against one wall and a closet full of bright colored clothing, all the rage in Celadon according to her mother, and the door to her room was in the wall at the foot of her bed.

Sasha quickly showered, briefly enjoying the warm water on her skin before her mother gave her another speech about her showers taking too long, and changed into a pair of white capris, a black sports bra, and a bright green tank top that matched the green streak in her hair. Her clothes fit her curvy 5' 2 inch figure perfectly. The green streak in her hair had been one of the few fashion choices Sasha had been allowed to make, even though her mom had expressed great disapproval.

Sasha went downstairs and after a quick breakfast she walked out into the sun.

Sasha's mother turned toward the front door and smiled.

"Good morning darling, did you sleep well?"

Sasha nodded.

"Oh I'm so glad. Here's the money for the growing formula. Do hurry back dear, there's plenty of gardening to be done."

Sasha rolled her eyes and took the money. She walked over to the shed and wheeled out her bicycle.

"Alright Mom, I'm heading into town now." She called out.

"Alright sweetie, please do be careful. I know it's not that far to town, but you never know when some ruffians could appear." Her mother warned.

"Okay Mom, I'll be careful. I'll be back with your Pokémon poop." She giggled as she quickly sped away down the driveway and out onto the road. She could hear her mom complaining from the garden.

"Oh goodness gracious! We leave the city and already my daughter is being influenced by these hillbillies and ruffians! It's just not proper…" her mom's voice faded away as Sasha pedaled off toward Lavender Town.

The sun felt great as Sasha coasted down the road. Nothing moved except for a few pidgeys and spearows fluttering about the trees. She made sure to steer clear of the spearows just in case they thought she was a threat. After riding for a while she noticed a tree that had fallen to the ground on the side of the road. Curious she steered towards it and came to a stop next to the trunk.

"_It was not fun moving here during those storms we had the last couple days. That was one of the reasons I ended up with a queen size bed, because my old bed got soaked when the tarp flew off the truck,_" She thought to herself.

She was just about to get moving again when she spotted a small glint of sunlight reflect off of something back in the trees. She hopped off her bike and stepped over the fallen tree trunk into the woods. She could see the sunlight reflecting through the trees but it was difficult getting to it as tree branches were extremely thick.

Finally she broke through the tree line and she was surprised by what she saw.

A small pond lay in a clearing, with a small stream emptying into it. The water was perfectly clear and the bottom could be seen perfectly. Beyond the pond past a few trees was a small cave.

Sasha walked around the pond and aside from some pidgey or spearows prints; there were no other Pokémon prints to be seen. She peered into the cave from a few feet away, the cave only went back 10 feet or so and while the cave was dark at the very back the sun was at a good angle to see a majority of the cave and it appeared to be empty. She walked back over to the pond and sat down next to it. She swirled her fingers around in the water, the water felt amazing against the surprising heat for so early in the morning. Sasha rubbed some of the water on the back of her neck and the skin exposed on her chest and arms.

"_Ah, that feels better_." She then stood back up and stretched, "_If no one knows about this spot then I think I may call it my own_." She thought to herself.

Sasha fought her way back to the road through the thick jumble of trees and almost made it through without a scratch when a branch she was holding slipped out of her hand and smacked her across her left eye.

"Ouch! Gah, that hurt!" she yelped and put a hand over her eye as she stumbled out into the grass next to the road.

Thankfully she had closed her eyes when the branch slipped out of her hand, but she could feel a definite mark right above and below her eye. She slowly opened up her eye and aside from the pain and the barrage of tears that filled her eye it seemed to be ok. She swung her leg over her bike and continued on her way towards Lavender Town.

Sasha did not notice the black sedan that had driven past her while she was preoccupied with her eye. The driver had snapped a couple photos of her while he drove past. After he was sure she was way behind him he pulled off and plugged his camera into the laptop in the passenger seat. The pictures uploaded and came back a match. He picked up his cellphone and dialed.

"Yes?" a gruff voice answered.

"I found them." The driver answered calmly.

"I'll tell everyone to get ready."

The driver snapped his phone shut and smiled, "Finally, the waiting is over."

The car's engine growled to life and the sedan eased back onto the road, heading toward Sasha Sa-Rya's home.


	2. Chapter 2

5

Chapter 2

Golden Glow

Sasha rolled into town as people began their workday. Shop owners unlocked their doors, miners began the walk to their mines, and the custodians and groundkeepers of the Pokémon Tower entered the tower. Sasha waited for the light to change to walk and then started across on her bike. Just then a car whipped out of an alley and barreled down the street in her direction.

The driver noticed the girl on the bike and slammed on the brakes.

Sasha heard tires squealing, looked up and froze. Time seemed to slow down as she watched the car get closer and closer. Finally the car appeared to be slowing down but the front fender still connected with her front tire. The bike flew out from under her and the next thing she knew she was laying on the hood of the car. Sasha lay staring up at the sky, the wind knocked out of her and her vision blurred. A shadow blotted out the sun.

"Are you alright young lady?" a deep voice asked.

Sasha groaned as she tried to sit up.

Two large hands, one was placed on her back and the other held one of Sasha's hands helped her sit up.

Sasha looked up from the hands and at the person standing in front of her.

He was a tall man, around 6 feet tall with slightly pale skin. He had piercing blue eyes, which at first appeared concerned but there was something else hidden behind the concern. He had brown hair which was starting to grey. The man also wore a black suit with a red handkerchief in his left breast pocket, black pants, and recently shined dress shoes. A black fedora was sitting on the hood next to Sasha.

The man repeated his question "Are you alright miss?"

Sasha nodded, while she felt a little sore nothing seemed to be broken or hurting terribly.

"I think so." She answered.

The man let out a deep breath, "Ok," he paused and looked around, "That's good to hear."

The man walked over to Sasha's bicycle and picked it up, leaning it against his car.

"Hmm…your bike is pretty banged up." He picked it up and carried over to the sidewalk and leaned it up against the building.

"Young lady, why don't you come over and stand next to your bike. Let me pull my car out of the way and I'll get that bike fixed for you."

Sasha was still a little out of it so she complied.

The man picked up his hat and tossed it back into his car and got in. The car started to roll away slowly.

Sasha then had a thought, "_He's trying to run_!"

She was just about to shout at the man when he turned down the street that was directly next to her and came to a stop.

"That's better. Didn't want to get a ticket for blocking the intersection." He stated as he got out of the car and placed his hat on his head.

Sasha closed her mouth and turned back to her bike. The front tire and rim were horribly bent and looked like it was about to fall off. She exhaled slowly and bent over to pick it up.

"Oh no young lady, let me get that for you," he scooped up the bike and put his arm through the frame so that the frame rested on his shoulder, "Ok, follow me."

Sasha started following the man down the sidewalk.

After a few moments of walking filled with awkward silence the man turned his head slightly towards Sasha, "So, you a Pokémon trainer?"

Sasha shook her head still looking straight ahead, "No, my mother is a perfumer and does not really think much of that kind of thing."

"That's rather surprising hearing that from someone your age. What about your father?" the man asked.

He is a Pokémon researcher, we just moved here from Celadon City so he could study some of the Pokémon around here. He does not really have an opinion on the subject; he's pretty wrapped up in his research most of the time"

The man looked straight at Sasha this time, "He isn't a student of Professor Oaks by chance is he?"

"Yea, he studied under him for a while." Sasha replied.

"I see."

The two went back to walking in silence and before long the store the pair made it to the store.

The man held the door open for Sasha and followed her in.

The shop owner looked up from the magazine he had been reading, "Ah, good morning friends, what can I do for you today?"

The man put the bike down on the floor, "We need a bike repaired." His voice was not as kind as it had been earlier with Sasha.

"Oh, well you came to the right place. There anything else I can help you with today?"

"No," the man replied "How long will the repair take?"

"Oh, I haven't looked at the bike yet but from here I would say a day or two. It looks pretty beat up."

The man walked up to the desk with the bike and leaned close to the shop owner and began whispering.

Sasha could not make out what was said but the whispering sounded pretty harsh.

The shop owner took the bike and immediately went into a back room.

The man walked back to Sasha, "He will have that done in a little while."

Sasha was a bit confused, but she was not going to argue with getting her bike back right away.

The two talked for a while about how she liked it in Lavender Town and how long he had lived here. The man had introduced himself as Mr. Sakaki, a longtime resident of Lavender Town who lived in the forests a couple miles north of Lavender and west of the Power Plant.

The conversation came back to why she was not a Pokémon trainer.

"So, is it your mother that is against you becoming a trainer?"

"Yea, she wants me to become a perfumer like her." Sasha guessed she must have made a face as Mr. Sakaki let out a small laugh.

"I can tell that would not be your first choice for a career."

Sasha did not say anything, just nodded.

The man looked at her for a few moments then produced a small box wrapped in a gold ribbon from his pants pocket.

"Here you go Sasha. Consider this a small gift as part of my apology."

Sasha took the box from him, "What is it?"

The man chuckled, "It's a gift Sasha, though I would not advise opening it around your mother. She may not be too fond of it."

Then a voice called out from the back room, "The bike is almost ready sir! It will be just a few more minutes."

Mr. Sakaki looked around the store, "Didn't you say you came into town for something for your mother?"

"Yea, I needed fertilizer for my mom's garden. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure how I am going to get it home."

The man walked behind an aisle and reappeared with a backpack, it was black with bright green trim, and a bag of fertilizer, "This should help with the trip back to your house." He stated as he put the fertilizer bag in the backpack.

"Sir, I really can't accept anymore." Sasha replied.

"Nonsense, if it will make you feel better you can still purchase the fertilizer if you must."

Sasha frowned but agreed.

The shop owner came out of the back room wheeling the bike with him.

"Here ya go, all fixed and oiled up, ready to go."

Mr. Sakaki pulled out some bills and paid the man.

Sasha gave him the money for the fertilizer.

The shop owner hesitated for a split second then took the money and gave the necessary change.

Sasha turned back to thank Mr. Sakaki when she heard the door chime behind her. She turned and saw a shiny dress shoe disappear out the door. She slung the backpack over her shoulder and wheeled her bike towards the door.

By the time she wrestled her bike through the door, the shop owner had disappeared into the back room as soon as Sasha had taken the bike from him, Mr. Sakaki and his car were gone.

"_Odd_," Sasha thought to herself, "_I didn't even hear a car engine_."

Sasha climbed onto her bike and started back towards home.

From a nearby alley Mr. Sakaki watched Sasha pedal her way down the sidewalk.

"If only you knew what was at stake little one, if only you knew."

Later that night, Sasha lay in bed looking at the box Mr. Sakaki had given her. It was the first time she had been able to rest since she got home as her mother had decided she needed help spreading the fertilizer.

Sasha undid the gold ribbon and pulled the top off the box. She let out a small gasp as a small golden glow lit up her face.

In the box lay a Poké Ball. It was clear with some type of gold mist or dust constantly moving around on the surface, under the gold mist was complete blackness.

Sasha picked it up and held it in her hand; it felt heavy for being so small, but not uncomfortably heavy. It was about half the size of the normal Poké Balls she had seen on TV. A small gold chain hung down, attached to the back of the Poké Ball. She undid the clasp on the chain and put the chain around her neck. The Poké Ball hung down just above her chest. The ball seemed to glow a little brighter, lighting up the gray sweatpants and black tank top she was wearing.

"Wow…this is beautiful." She whispered to herself.

Suddenly there was a knock at her door.

She let out a small "Eep." and quickly undid the necklace and replaced it in the box and hid it under her pillow.

"Come in!" she called out.

Her father walked in, "Hey honey I was hoping to catch you before you went to sleep."

Sasha smiled, "Yep, I'm awake, whatcha need?"

Her father sat down on her bed, "I had an interesting talk with someone today. A Mr. Sasaki showed up at my lab down by the beach today and said he had met you. Said there had been a bit of an accident. Anything you want to tell me?"

Sasha, felt a small chill down her spine. She didn't want to lie to her father, but she didn't want her mother to find out and call out the military to find Mr. Sasaki and shoot him either.

"Um, well I…" she looked down for a moment then looked back up at her father, "I kind of was not looking where I was going and I rode my bike out in front of his car, but he helped me out and fixed my bike and everything." She added quickly.

Her father looked at her for a few seconds, "Sasha, he explained it a little differently. He said he had been going too fast and had not been able to stop in time."

Sasha looked down at her hands folded in her lap, "Please don't tell mom. Please don't tell her dad."

Her dad chuckled, "Well, I talked with Mr. Sasaki for a while and he seemed like a good guy, especially with coming clean like that. Took courage to risk a father's wrath and since you seem to be ok and nothing else happened…?"

Sasha looked at him for a split-second, confused, "Oh! No, no, no I'm fine dad. He never touched me except for helping me up." She explained the whole story to her dad and he listened quietly.

Her dad smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, "Ok sweetie. I won't tell your mother. You seem to be ok and as long as you promise me to be a little more vigilant, we won't speak of this again."

Sasha smiled and gave her dad a big hug, "Thanks daddy."

Her father kissed her cheek, "Good night Sasha."

Sasha's father closed the bedroom door behind him and walked back down the stairs.

Sasha made sure he was actually gone then took the box back out. She took the Poké Ball back out and looked into the glow. She yawned and held the Poké Ball against her chest and fell to sleep, dreaming of catching Pokémon with her golden Poké Ball.


	3. Chapter 3

5

Chapter 3

A Red Night Sky

It had been two weeks since Sasha's run in with Mr. Sasaki and she and her mother had begun to butt heads. Sasha had been stealing away whenever she could to go to her secret pond. She had broken off some branches from some of the trees surrounding the pond and built a covering where the tree that had fallen over had initially revealed the pond to her, in order to keep it hidden.

Sasha's mother had begun to notice her absence and was not happy about it as she had expected Sasha to be helping her out in the garden more since she was away from all that Pokémon training and junk.

Sasha's father had been making some interesting discoveries during his research and had been gone for a couple of days with a research team. It had been the sixth night without Sasha's father there to run interference or lay down the law, as he would always listen to both sides then make a decision to end the fighting, and neither Sasha nor her mother had gone to bed the previous night on good speaking terms. Sasha woke up expecting to hear the sound of her mother's voice telling her to get down stairs and be ready to help in the garden, but as she lay there, only the sounds of the wind rustling through the leaves in the trees outside could be heard through her cracked open window.

"_Hmm_, _that's weird_." She thought to herself.

She climbed out of bed and looked out her window.

Her mother was already in the garden working, a radio sitting on flat patch of ground next to her playing music.

Sasha sighed and turned away, half angry at herself and half angry at her mother. Sasha walked over to her closet and began the process of selecting something to wear. With the wind coming in through the window feeling a bit chilly and the sun seemed to be hanging around behind a thick layer of clouds she decided she would wear her favorite sleeveless hoodie her father had bought for her. It was jet black with two drawstrings that had grey fuzz balls on the end of the drawstrings. She picked out a bright green bikini to wear underneath everything and then chose a pair of skinny blue jeans. Sasha looked at herself in the mirror and was happy to see her green eyes were sparkling. She walked over to her night stand and opened the box that contained her golden Poké Ball. She clasped the chain around her neck and slid the ball down inside her shirt.

She decided she was just going to spend the day away from the house. Give herself and her mother some time alone after last night's fight. She had hidden away some Pokémon magazines she had discovered in some boxes that had not been unpacked yet and decided to bring them with her today. She packed a couple bottles of water and some sandwiches into the backpack Mr. Sasaki had bought for her and cracked open the front door. Her mother had her back turned, but Sasha was afraid if she took the time to grab her bike her mom would see her. She quickly made her way around the edge of the house and started to make her way towards Lavender Town with the house blocking her mother's view if she happened to turn around.

Sasha arrived at the fallen tree and hopped over it. She moved her makeshift covering aside and battled her way through the branches. She stepped out into her secret clearing and took a deep breath. The air was clear and the only sound that could be heard was the wind whistling through the trees.

Back behind a wall of trees, a pair of eyes watched the young girl as she walked towards the pond.

"_This must be the one I am supposed to watch_," the eyes watched the girl place the backpack on the ground and shed her sweatshirt and jeans, "_Do not worry master_, _I will not take my eyes off the young human_."

Sasha slipped into the cool water and discovered it was not very deep. It only went up to her stomach at the deepest point. After rubbing the cool water on her skin she waded over to a shallow point near her back pack. She sat down and pulled a magazine out of her back pack and started leafing through it. She found a special research section that said it highlighted a separate Pokémon for every issue. This issue focused on Gastly, a ghost pokamon.

Gastly has no true form, due to its body being 95% poisonous gas. However, it consistently appears as a black, spherical Pokémon surrounded by a purple haze. It has a wide, pink mouth with two visible fangs. Though its eyes seem to extend past its round body, visible eyelids surround them. The toxic gas surrounding the main body can induce fainting and suffocation. Current research suggests that Gastly has a playful personality, often frightening and playing pranks on people for fun. However, it has shown a willingness to preserve or pass on the memories of departed humans. It has further been shown changing form and creating illusions, and it is capable of phasing through solid objects and forming tangible hands out of its gasses. Gastly is often seen in old, dilapidated buildings, but can also be found in caves. Caution is advised when attempting to catch or study Gastly as its behavior can be unpredictable. A trainer who is able to capture Gastly should still be wary of its playful personality.

Keep an eye out for our next issue as it will be focused on Dratini! We will look into how such a small, cute Pokémon can evolve into the monstrous Pokémon Dragonite!

"Wow, Gastly sounds pretty cool." Sasha thought out loud.

She flipped through the next few pages that were filled with pictures of Gastly. Some were pictures taken through cracks in old buildings where Gastly could be seen floating around and others showed Gastly floating through a city at night.

Sasha looked through the rest of the magazine, but didn't find anything of interest. She laid back on the grass, enjoying the beautiful, albeit mostly cloudy, weather.

The sunlight burst through a small break in the clouds and reflected off the water droplets on Sasha's body.

The pair of eyes continued to watch through the trees, determined to follow its masters bidding.

The sunlight was slowly fading as the sun began dipping to the west by the time Sasha's mother was finished with her garden.

"Ah, the flowers are going to produce some amazing scents this year. May be my best harvest yet." She mused with pride.

It had been a very long and fragile process, but her garden had been transplanted from a Celadon City greenhouse to out here during the move. She had been extremely worried the move would have badly damaged her precious scent flowers but the vast majority had arrived without so much as a petal missing.

Just then a shadow blotted out the ground around her for a quick second. The sound of something large cutting through the air drew Sasha's mother attention toward the sky.

She looked up, but there was nothing there. She looked around for a little while longer then shrugged her shoulders and went back into the house.

The sound of a vehicle pulling up to the house drew her attention.

Her husband stepped out of his research truck and made his way into the house.

She knew he was going to be exhausted, so she quickly placed all her tools back into the shed, she noticed Sasha's bike still the shed, which made her a little happier.

Inside, Sasha's father sat down at the dinner table and pulled out a tablet containing all the data from the last few days. He scrolled through some data than put it back into his bag and locked it into his safe hidden in the back of a cupboard.

Sasha's mother walked in and started making dinner.

"Honey?" Sasha's father asked, "Where's Sasha? I expected her to be helping you in the garden?"

Sasha's mother shrugged, "I don't know. I haven't seen her all day. I never saw her come outside so she is probably up in her room still."

Sasha's father sighed and got up to check on his daughter. Once upstairs he knocked on the Sasha's bedroom door.

No response.

He tried again, same result.

"Sasha? Sasha are you in there?"

When he received no answer again, he turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Her room was empty.

Confused, Sasha's father went back downstairs and into the kitchen.

Then an extremely loud whooshing sound came from outside and the house shook when something or something's landed heavily outside.

Sasha's father and mother looked at each other and walked over to the kitchen window.

Something large blotted out the sun. Its outline could be seen. The creature stood at over 6 feet tall and had wings spread out on each side of it. Then an orange glow appeared in the middle of its head lighting up the creature.

Sasha's father gasped, "It's a Charizard…"

Then they saw where the orange glow was coming from, the Pokémon mouth.

"Get down!" Sasha's father screamed.

Then flames shot straight through the window.

The heat blistered the couple's skin as they crawled out of the kitchen. They made it to the living room just in time to see another jet of flame burst the living room window. Then a portion of the ceiling in the living room gave way and flames could be seen snapping and cracking its way in the bedroom upstairs.

The couple held onto each other as they scrambled their way to the front door.

Sasha's father threw open the door to an amazing sight.

Three more Charizard stood in the front lawn. They looked like normal Charizard with orange colored skin and cream colored stomachs, except instead of their eyes being blue, the entire eye was now bright red.

The three Charizard looked at the couple trembling in the doorway. It reared back its head and let loose a devastating Roar.

The couple fell to the ground in fear as the other two Charizard reared back their heads and unleashed a Fire Blast.

The couple looked into each other's eyes and whispered together, "We love you, Sasha."

The flames reached the couple and enveloped them.

Sasha was lying down in the grass on a towel when she was jerked awake when the ground shook beneath her.

"Wha, What?" she asked out loud groggily.

She looked around but there no one there.

"_What was that_?" she thought to herself.

She stood up and quickly rolled up her towel and tossed it and the magazines she was had been reading into her back pack.

She quickly threw on her sweatshirt and jeans and decided she better head back home, she was certain there would be another fight with her mother, especially since she had been gone all day. She once again fought her way through the jumble of branches and stepped out next to the road. Sasha turned towards home when she saw a red glow above the tree line in the direction of her house.

"What the…" Sasha didn't finish as a terrible thought came to her mind.

"_FIRE_!"

With adrenaline surging through her veins she took off running towards home.

Sasha got past the tree line that blocked the view of her house and her heart sank.

The house was completely engulfed.

"Mom! Mom!" Sasha screamed as she ran toward the house.

As she got closer she could see flames rising off something in the front entryway.

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" Sasha wailed as she ran closer.

She fell to her knees trying to beat the flames out with her hands.

The pain was unbearable, but Sasha did not stop.

Suddenly large hands grabbed her underneath her arms and she was dragged away, kicking and screaming from the flames.

Then a loud groan came from the house and then the house collapsed.

The big hands laid Sasha down on the ground.

Tears streamed down Sasha's face as her heart felt like it was about to break into a million pieces.

Suddenly, a purple haze obscured her view of the house. A pair a whit eyes appeared in front of Sasha's face.

Suddenly, a beautiful high pitched song resonated in her brain and then blackness overwhelmed her.


	4. Chapter 4

7

Chapter 4

Harsh Reality and Someone New

_Screams filled the night air as Sasha ran towards her house. She could see her mother in the entryway pleading with Sasha to save her._

_ "Sasha! Save me please!" her mother wailed._

_ "I'm coming mama! I'm coming!" Sasha called back._

_ She tried to run as fast as she could, but everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Her legs felt like lead and her arms felt like someone was preventing them from moving._

_ "Sasha! Help me!" her mother screamed._

_ Sasha refocused her attention on the entryway just in time to see an explosion envelop her mother._

_ Sasha screamed._

Sasha's eyes shot open, but quickly closed them again as a bright light above her head pierced deep into her retinas. The sounds of her scream still echoed around her.

She put a hand over her eyes, expecting to hear sirens and voices but there was no sound, she even hoped for a split second on hearing her mother's voice telling her it was going to be alright, except the only sound was a soft humming of machinery coming from somewhere below her. Even though her eyes were closed she could feel the tears welling up and begin to stream out from under her eyelids. After what seemed like an eternity and when she finally accepted that she was not going to hear her mother's voice telling her to come down for breakfast, Sasha turned her head to the side and was shocked to find herself in a small room.

There were two doors. The bed she was lying in was against the wall, in the corner, opposite a door. There was a small nightstand with a lamp on it next to the bed. A small dresser stood against the wall at the foot of her bed, a TV sat on top of the dresser. There was a desk and a chair just to the left of the second door and there was also a tiny kitchen with a small stove and a sink as well.

Sasha slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed and placed her feet on the floor. Then she realized she was wearing different clothes. She was now wearing a grey tank top and a pair of grey shorts, and bare feet.

"_What_…_What happened_?" she thought to herself, "_How did I get here_?"

She could remember running towards her house. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she remembered trying to put the fire that raged all around her parents, but after that it's all just black.

She slowly got to her feet, and a wave of dizziness swept over her. She sat back down on the bed and leaned forward with her head in her hands.

"Oooohhh," she moaned.

Sasha heard a quiet hiss and slowly looked up.

Standing in the doorway was a Pokémon. It was pink oval shape and had three strands of hair on each side of its head, with the tips colored a darker pink. It had two stubby arms along with a dark pink pouch which held an egg. It also had two stubby feet which were dark pink in color.

"Chansey?" the Pokémon asked in a kind and soothing tone.

Sasha sat up a little more, sniffing as she tried to wipe the tears away.

"Chaaaaaansey." The Chansey walked over and produced a tissue, "Chansey?"

Sasha took the tissue and wiped her eyes.

The Pokémon chanted its name as it skipped its way over to the kitchen area.

Sasha watched the Chansey as it began preparing something. Wonderful smells started drifting throughout the room. She groaned and fell back onto the bed.

"_You really should be getting up_," a calm male voice echoed through her head, "_It's rude to be lying in bed while someone else is working."_

Sasha sat up quickly and looked around. No one was in the room except for the Chansey.

"Hello? Did…did somebody say something?" Sasha moved closer to the edge of the bed, now more leaning against the bed then sitting on it.

The only response was Chansey's happy chanting as she went about her work.

When Sasha fully stood up, her movement caught Chansey's attention.

"Chansey chansey chansey!" the pink Pokémon waved its arms and ran up to Sasha. It held onto Sasha's leg and looked up with big round eyes, worry etched on its face.

"I-I'm ok. I'm kinda hungry." Sasha explained.

The Chansey's face lit up and it ran back to the kitchen and finished up with whatever it had been cooking.

The door to her room slid open again with a hiss.

Sasha looked up and Mr. Sasaki stood in the doorway.

"Hello Sasha, how're you feeling?" Mr. Sasaki asked. Even though the question was meant to sound like he cared something in his face made Sasha not believe him.

Sasha looked at him for a full minute before answering.

Mr. Sasaki expression didn't change.

"What happened?" Sasha finally asked.

Mr. Sasaki turned away, "You have been unconscious for several days. Come to my office after you have eaten. We can talk then."

"Huh? Several days? Wait a min-." the door slid shut cutting her off.

"I don't even know where I'm at." she said quietly.

"Chansey?"

Sasha looked down at the Pokémon tugging on her shorts.

Chansey held out a plate filled with scrambled eggs, fruit, and also a small glass of orange juice.

Sasha had sat back down on the bed and taken a small bite, but the next thing she knew she was cleaning off the rest of the plate and gulping down the orange juice. When she looked up, she was alone again.

Sasha felt a little better after eating something. She left the plate on the bed and walked to the door Mr. Sasaki and Chansey had come in through.

The door revealed a hallway, with white walls, floor, and ceiling, and a door at the end of the hallway.

"_Weird_." She thought to herself.

Sasha walked over to the other door and opened it and was happily surprised to see a bathroom with a very nice looking bathtub. She immediately slipped out of her tank top and shorts and drew a hot bath full of bubbles. Sasha slipped into the tub.

"_Doesn_'_t that feel much better_?" the calm voice returned to echo within her head.

Sasha quickly ducked down in the water, looking around for the source of the voice.

"_Don't be scared young human_, _I mean you no harm_." The voice cooed.

"Wher-where are you? Show yourself pervert!" Sasha said angrily.

"_Of course._" The voice answered.

Sasha sank down into the bubbles as far as she could without trying to inhale the water in the tub.

The door to the bathroom swung slowly open with a long squeak.

Sasha balled her hands into fists, ready to pummel whoever was in peeping on her. Something dark flashed across the doorway which made Sasha jump a little. She quickly stood up and wrapped a towel around herself. Silently she tip toed across the bathroom floor to the door, her feet wet feet making soft slap sounds and the water dripped off of her onto the floor.

Sasha peeked her head out the bathroom doorway, and saw nothing. She stepped out the bathroom and looked around the room more thoroughly; she bent over and checked underneath the bed, still nothing.

"What the…?" she asked out loud, "_Am I going insane_?" she asked herself.

"_Hello_." A voice chimed inside her head.

Sasha straightened and turned around quickly, her heart skipped beat and she stumbled a couple steps backwards.

Floating in front of her was a Gastly.

She had backed up all the way against the wall, staring at the ghostly Pokémon.

"What do you want?" Sasha asked.

The Gastly eyes tilted to the side, as the clouds of purple gas stirred a little.

Sasha could only think of it as an attempt at what a puppy does when it's acting cute, this Gastly was no puppy. Sasha grabbed the lamp from the nightstand and swung it at the Gastly, hoping to teach not to spy on a girl taking a bath.

The lamp passed right through the Pokémon.

"_Ha ha ha_, _young one_, _while I am amused at your overreaction there really is no time for this_." The voice explained gently.

Sasha stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do, "Did, did you just talk?" she asked.

The Pokémon sighed, "_Not in the sense you are thinking of_._ I am speaking directly to your mind_. _If I were to try to speak audibly you would not understand_."

Sasha stared at the Pokémon for a couple seconds, "What do you want?" she asked again.

The Gastly's chuckle echoed through her mind, "_Young human_,_ I have been asked by the master to assist you_."

"The master? Who's your master and I definitely do not need any help taking a bath!" Sasha was furious; she could feel her face heating up.

The Gastly just smiled, it seemed to enjoy her frustration.

"Get out, I don't need your help." Sasha stated sternly.

"_On the contrary_, _young human_, _you do need my help_. _The task the master intends to send you on will require a Pokémon_, _such as myself_, _in order for you to complete it_."

Sasha glared at the ghostly apparition walked up to it, "Out of my way. I am going to finish my bath and if I so much as catch a puff of your purple smoke I will suck you up in a vacuum and burn it." She stalked past the Pokémon.

Gastly floated away from her to hover over the bed.

Sasha swore she could hear the Gastly chuckle as she slammed the door to the bathroom behind her.

Thankfully Gastly stayed out of the bathroom while Sasha finished up. She opened up the dresser and found the clothes she had been wearing the night of the fire. Her eyes welled up with tears again. She picked up the neatly folded clothes and held them close to her chest. She felt something hard press against her skin from underneath the folded clothes. She felt around inside the folded clothes and found the golden Poké ball that Mr. Sasaki had given to her.

Sasha glanced around, the Gastly was out of sight, so she quickly dropped her towel and slid her bikini on. She was just tying the last string of her bikini at her waist when Gastly shifted through the wall leading into the hallway.

"_Ah_, _the young human is ready now_?" the ghost asked.

Sasha glared, "No, the young human is not ready. This…" she gestured toward her bikini, "is not considered dressed."

Sasha thought she heard a frustrated sigh come from the Pokémon.

"_Well_, _then finish getting ready_. _The master awaits_."

Sasha pulled her sleeveless hoodie over her head and slipped on her jeans. She used the mirror to clasp the golden Poké Ball around her neck.

By the time Sasha turned around to tell the Gastly she was done, the Pokémon was already shifting through the wall leading to the hallway. She quickly followed with the door hissing closed behind her.

Sasha followed the purplish gas cloud down the hallway to the only other door.

Gastly turned and waited for Sasha to catch up, "_After you, young human_."

"What, now you know some manners?" she scoffed.

The Gastly seemed hurt, "_You humans are so difficult to understand_."

Sasha stepped past the ghost, the door opened with a soft hiss, and she stepped through.

In front of her lay an expansive office with marble floors and a glass ceiling. The walls were white and a crystal fountain sat in the middle of the room. Pieces of furniture dotted the room.

Sasha slowly walked further into the room, awestruck by just how beautiful everything was.

"_Do hurry human_,_ the master is waiting_." Gastly floated over the top of the fountain and out of sight.

Sasha hurried around the fountain, more so out of curiosity than to follow the Pokémon, she had completely forgotten about Mr. Sasaki.

Once around the fountain, sitting next the far wall sat a marble desk, with a high backed chair in between the desk and the wall.

Gastly was floating next to the high backed chair with a big grin on its face.

Sasha walked up to the desk, seeing no chair nearby for her to sit on; she just stood there, feeling a bit out of place.

The high backed chair slowly spun around to reveal Mr. Sasaki sitting there, rubbing a large cat's neck with his hand.

"Welcome Sasha. I trust Gastly made sure you found your way here?"

"Sasha glared at the ghost, "You might want to teach some manners and privacy rules to him."

Mr. Sasaki laughed, "Oh that is no longer my concern."

Sasha looked at him, "Isn't he yours?"

Mr. Sasaki stopped rubbing the cat's neck and leaned forward on his desk, "Sasha, I have many, many types of Pokémon. To claim one as my own would be impossible. But, enough about me."

Mr. Sasaki pressed a button on the desk and a monitor came up from behind the desk and lit up.

On the screen was reporter talking about a mysterious fire, behind the reporter was a house that had burnt to the ground.

Sasha recognized the house and turned away, "I-I don't want to see that."

Mr. Sasaki said nothing. The reporter continued talking.

"… Authorities still have no solid leads on what caused the fire, except for scorch marks that seem to have begun from outside the house and burned towards the house. Arson is suspected but upon investigation, no accelerants have been discovered. Another piece of the puzzle is that strange impressions have been discovered all around the house. Recent rains have made the ground very soggy in this area and initially investigators hoped to find some footprints left by the perpetrators or maybe of the missing girl, but no such footprints have been found…"

Sasha turned back to the screen, but Mr. Sasaki turned off the screen and folded his hands together.

"Sasha, I had a team comb through the area that night and we did not find much. We did manage to take some photographs of those impressions the reporter was talking about."

Mr. Sasaki produced some photographs from a drawer.

Sasha looked at the pictures, but they didn't mean anything to her.

"What are they?" she asked.

"Footprints, or more precisely Pokémon footprints, although the size suggests some abnormalities. These prints are from a Charizard. I want you to take a look at these pictures and tell me what you see."

Sasha had no idea what she was looking for, but she complied.

The footprints had a rounded heel with three toes that seemed to end at a point, which Sasha guessed were claws. All the impressions looked exactly the same to her.

"Ok, so they all look the same to me. What am I supposed to look for?"

"That's exactly right. They are all the same. Judging from that and the fact that the fire was burning so furiously within a couple minutes, there were definitely more than one and these were no ordinary Charizard."

"Wait, a couple minutes? How do you know that?" Sasha asked, feeling a small chill travel down her spine.

Mr. Sasaki sighed and stood up. He walked over to the fountain, his hands clasped behind his back, "Sasha, I had been watching your family for some time. Your father's research on Pokémon was brilliant. I had plans on talking with your father about working for me, but unfortunately I waited too long. If I had acted sooner, maybe things would have been different."

"What are you saying, work for you? I thought you were just another researcher?" Sasha asked, she stayed standing next to the desk.

"Sasha, I am the head of an organization that stands for the advancement of Pokémon and humans, an organization that believes the best way for everyone to work together is to learn from and study the most powerful Pokémon in the world. Over the years, those who do not understand what we hope to accomplish have tried their hardest to destroy all that I have built, but we have persevered. Now a new threat rises that threatens to destroy the bond that humans and Pokémon share. Without that bond my organization will crumble to dust and our dreams will never be realized and the world as we know it will change forever."

Mr. Sasaki turned toward Sasha, "My name is Giovanni Sasaki. I am the leader of Team Rocket. The Charizard that attacked your home were mechas. A group of our scientists left our organization some time ago and seemed to have just disappeared off the planet. But, a short time ago we became aware of a recent span of attacks that seemed to be targeting Pokémon researchers and scientists, all of which seemed to have been perpetrated by Pokémon. Pokémon have rarely attacked humans, let alone seriously injured or killed anyone. The team of scientists that left us had been in charge of our Mecha Division and we had just finished research on a number of Pokémon which would enable us to create mechanized versions."

Sasha took a few steps back until she bumped into the marble desk.

"So you are saying these mechas attacked my home?"

Giovanni nodded, his face remained impassive.

Sasha looked toward the cat, which she now remembered was called a Persian; the Pokémon had jumped up into Giovanni's chair and seemed to be sleeping. Sasha glanced at the Gastly who seemed to no longer have the grin on its face, but a more somber expression.

"Why did you bring me here?" Sasha finally asked.

A small smile tried to creep on Giovanni's face, but it disappeared quickly, "I have managed to gather some information regarding where these mechas may have come from as well as where they went after the attack. I have a number of agents working on every angle, but my organization has shrunk considerably over the last few years."

"Why not give the information to the police?" Sasha asked.

"Sasha, the police would rather arrest me rather than take any information I may have and would not believe me anyways. Rest assured though, the information I have has been passed along to the authorities. Whether they take it seriously or not is up to them."

"So what do you want me to do with the information?" Sasha asked, still confused.

"Giovanni did not try to hide the smile this time, "I want you to follow the lead."


	5. Chapter 5

3

Chapter 5

The Choice

Sasha sat on the edge of a bed in a new room she had been given. It looked identical to the one she had woken up in, but there was a single window that looked out over a valley.

Down in the valley she could see a road that she was told led to Lavender Town. Past some of the lower lying hills she could also see the sunlight reflecting off the ocean.

She held the golden Poké Ball in her hands as she gazed into the golden haze that seemed to swirl from within. She had been thinking a lot since Mr. Sasaki, or more appropriately Giovanni, had explained to her everything that had happened. On one hand she wanted to find those who taken everything away from her, but she also did not want to help Team Rocket. Everything she had been told about the organization had been horrible. She clasped the golden chain around her neck and let out a deep breath.

A soft knock at the door broke her concentration.

"Who is it?" Sasha called out.

"Chansey?" came the reply.

Sasha stood up and pressed a button next to the door, unlocking it.

The door slid open with a hiss and revealed a Chansey standing in the doorway holding a box.

"Chansey?" the Pokémon's voice was slightly muffled as the box was pressed against its face.

"Oh, what is this?" Sasha asked.

The Chansey skipped its way into the room, chanting, as it set the box down on the bed. It gave Sasha a happy grin as it skipped its way out of the room and down the hallway.

Sasha pressed the button and relocked the door. She walked over to the box and sat down next to it.

The box looked like a regular cardboard packing box, similar to one of the smaller boxes her family may have used to move pictures or other small items.

Sasha pulled the tape away from the box and opened it up.

Tears immediately blinded her.

Lying on top was a family photo, although the edges were a bit charred. In the photo, Sasha stood between her parents as they stood smiling in front of their new home in Lavender. The realtor who had sold them the house had taken the picture for them.

Sasha smiled through the tears. She had been actually happy in that picture.

She laid the picture down in the bed as she began looking through the box. Next she found a picture frame, which she immediately placed the picture inside.

Next she found a belt with some small clasps along the edge. She then found a small, thin, black square. There was a hollow white circle in the center as well as a soft blue glow that emanated from the center of the white circle.

Sasha turned it over in her hands. But there did not appear to be anything else to look at.

She was just about to put lay it on the bed when her thumb slid onto the blue light and the white circle slid apart revealing a holographic screen, 3-4 inches wide and 5 inches tall.

The square began vibrating slightly, like some kind of tiny engine had turned on. Then it stopped, a soft blue glow emanated from the screen.

"Greetings," a robotic female voice stated from somewhere inside the square, which now looked a rectangle, "I am Dixie, a handheld electronic encyclopedia device; one which is capable of recording and retaining information of the various Pokémon of the world, also known as a PokéDex. I am the Pokémon Trainers license and sole property of Sasha Sa-Rya."

The PokéDex whirred and hummed for a few more seconds, Sasha was dumbfounded and just sat there with her mouth hanging open.

A soft blue light lit up Sasha's face for a few seconds then dissipated, "Identity confirmed. Greetings, Sasha. I am Dixie, how may I be of service?"

"Uh, well I uh…" Sasha stammered, still not believing what she was seeing or hearing.

"My function is to gather data on all Pokémon in the world while providing any data that may aid you in during this undertaking. When you wish to make use of me in the future, just press your thumb into the center of the white circle."

The PokéDex slid shut and now was no bigger than Sasha's hand.

Sasha stared at it for a few minutes. Then carefully set it down on the bed.

She then pulled out the last few items. There were 5 Poké Balls laying the bottom of the box. They all looked the about the same size as the Poké Ball fastened around her neck.

Sasha picked one up and looed it all over. It looked real enough, but it still didn't seem like the right size. She noticed there was a small white circle which stood out maybe a half inch from the rest of the Poké Ball. She pressed it and the Poké Ball grew until it reached softball size.

"Wow," Sasha said in astonishment, as she laid out all the items that had been in the box onto her bed.

Then the door hissed open behind her.

"Hey I had that door loc…" she trailed off when she saw it was Giovanni. She turned back to the bed.

Giovanni took a couple steps in and stood at the foot of the bed with his hands clasped behind his back.

"That picture was the only thing my men could find without drawing a lot of attention. Everything else was either too badly damaged or too many people."

Sasha nodded. But still did not look at him.

"I know this is a difficult time for you, but the information I have may only be valid for a short time. People like this tend to disappear quickly and if you don't accept it I will have someone else does the investigation and you will never hear from me again."

Sasha sighed. She had no choice; she could not just sit by and miss the chance to find out why her parents were killed.

Sasha turned and faced Giovanni.

"I'll do it." She said.

A small smile crept across the Team Rocket leaders face.

"Excellent."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The Investigation Begins

Sasha stared out the window of the taxi cab as it sped its way down the highway.

Giovanni had explained that his sources had told him that something big was being moved from one of the warehouses in Saffron City to Vermillion City. The source had stated that four large semi-trucks with trailers had left and would be boarding one of the ships. The trucks were all painted completely black, with the trailers just covered in tarps. The source had promised to get back to Giovanni with the ship name and time of departure, but had not been in contact and Giovanni had decided they could wait no longer. He sent Sasha away in a cab, with nothing but her backpack, the clothes on her back, the picture of her family, the Poké Balls and PokéDex. The only directions she had been given were to find the trucks and learn everything she could about them and when/if they would be loaded onto a ship. At that point Giovanni stated he would notify the authorities, Sasha didn't believe him.

Sasha had asked if there was going to be someone there to meet her or was someone going with her.

Giovanni laughed, "No, you will be on your own," he paused for a couple seconds and rubbed his chin, "Actually, to better fit your cover as a Pokémon trainer you will actually need Pokémon, at least until you catch your own."

Giovanni had then turned to Gastly, "You will accompany her."

Sasha had immediately protested the idea.

Once Giovanni had explained to her that it was either Gastly or no one, then she had finally relented. Gastly now hid inside her necklace, which Giovanni had also explained that it was the same technology as a Poké Ball but it enabled the Pokémon to observe what was happening around it and able to come and go as it pleased, a perk that may come in handy in the future.

Sasha was drifting off to sleep when Gastly's voice drifted through her thoughts.

"_This is such a waste of time, human transportation is so slow. I could have completed the master's task and be back by now_." The Pokémon grumbled to itself.

Sasha could not help but smile, but that was the last thing she remembered before she drifted off to sleep.

Sasha awoke to a voice and someone lightly shaking her shoulder

"Miss, we are in Vermillion City. Miss? Miss, are you alright?" a kind male voice asked.

"Uh, wha-" Sasha asked groggily as she pushed herself upright in the seat. She turned toward the sound of the voice.

A man stood holding the cab door open. He was a little heavyset with tan skin and greying hair. Sunglasses hid his eyes. He was wearing a purple flower print shirt and khaki shorts.

The man let out a deep breath, "Oh thank goodness, thought I was going to have to call ambulance there for a second. Mam, we have arrived in Vermillion City. You must have been exhausted."

"Mmhmm," Sasha answered quietly, stretching as she stepped out of the cab.

She looked around and was pleasantly surprised by what she saw.

The streets were well paved and taken care of, the buildings all had a light colored beach theme to them making the whole city seem bright and cheery. The ocean could be heard in the distance along with the call of sea birds. A few cars drove through the streets, but the majority of traffic were young people walking, riding bikes, or on rollerblades or skates. Laughter and conversation filled the air.

Sasha stood speechless as she gazed at the scene around her. Celadon City had been busy but it consisted of mostly car traffic and people walking from expensive store to the next. Most were of high society and the young people were snobby and the only laughter came from the rich kids making fun of the kids who could not afford the most expensive accessories or clothes. Vermillion City was full of laughter sounding like people were on vacation and just here to have a good time.

"Miss, are you sure you're ok?" the cabby asked again, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Uh, yea," Sasha replied, "Just trying to soak it all in. I've never been here before."

The cabby chuckled, "Ah I see. Well, if you need directions just ask I will tell where to go. Your father or whoever the man was who paid your fare gave me enough to drive you from Lavender Town and Vermillion City twice."

"_Definitely not my father_," she thought to herself, "_I could have used some of that money to buy food or a change of clothes_."

Sasha turned to the cabby, "Well, I was hoping to see some of the big ships that come into Vermillion. Which way do I go?"

"That's an easy question. Just keep following this road until you get to Main St. You can't miss it, there is so much foot traffic, cars are not even allowed near there. Turn left on Main and just keep going. It will lead you straight to the docks. If you get lost, ask one of the vendors, they are out here every day." The cabby pointed down the street behind Sasha.

Sasha could see the majority of people heading in that direction; she figured it would not be too difficult to find the docks.

Then a bright light shot out of the Poké Ball pendant around her neck.

Gastly appeared with a not so happy look on its face.

"_I am hungry young human_._ I refuse to go anywhere until I have eaten_. _Ask this human where I may find food_."

Sasha glared back at the Pokémon and turned to the cabby.

"So where is a good place to eat around here?" she asked.

The cabby at first didn't hear her as he was walking around Gastly, looking very excited.

"Remarkable, I have never seen a Gastly so close up before. He is quite amazing. You must be a remarkable trainer to have caught one, Gastlys are said to be some of the toughest to catch on account of their illusion abilities and their ability to escape. Very impressive."

Gastlys face changed from angry to a very smug grin, "_Well, perhaps this gentleman knows what he is talking about_."

The cabby turned back to Sasha, "The names Greg, I have a great fondness for Pokémon trainers, and not just because they like to use the cab a lot to get around the city, they always have amazing stories and some interesting Pokémon to show off. My granddaughter is a Pokémon trainer too. Her name is Amy and she loves the water Pokémon around Vermillion City." The excitement and pride in his voice was very obvious.

Sasha wasn't sure what to say. She was not really a Pokémon trainer; she had not even had a battle yet let alone catching her own Pokémon. She looked at Gastly, who was floating next to her, a prideful grin still on its face as it floated in a circle, letting the cabby get a good look at him.

Greg put a big hand on Sasha's shoulder, "Are you just starting out young lady? Begging your pardon, but you sure don't look like an experienced trainer."

Sasha wasn't sure how to answer so she just nodded.

"That's quite alright. How about I give you a lift to the Pokémon Center so you and your Gastly can get a bite to eat and, if you want, I can give Amy a call and maybe she can meet us there and give you some pointers. Sound good?"

Sasha wasn't sure what to do. She knew she was supposed to find the trucks and trailers as soon as possible, but she had no idea where to start except maybe the docks. She looked towards the ocean and could see a number of big ships anchored offshore; she realized this was not going to be a simple walk into the docks to find what she was looking for.

Sasha looked back at Greg, who had a compassionate smile on his face.

"Ok, that sounds like a good idea." She said with a smile, "My name is Sasha by the way."

Greg beamed and bowed a little, waving his hand with a flourish, motioning for Sasha to step back into the cab.

Sasha stepped back inside as Gastly followed her in.

Greg shut the door and rolled down the windows, letting the salty sea air flow through the car.

As the cab pulled up in front of the Pokémon Center, Gastly turned to Sasha.

"_Make sure you treat Greg with respect young human_," Gastly stated, "_He is a very wise and reasonable human_."

Sasha couldn't keep quiet any longer, "You're only saying that because he said you are 'remarkable' and 'tough'. And, by the way, my name is Sasha, not 'young human'.

Gastly looked at Sasha for a few seconds then made what Sasha guessed was a shrug and turned away to look back out the window.

Greg looked back in the rearview mirror, "I'm sorry Sasha, Is there something wrong?"

Sasha shook her head, "No, Gastly just has a big head, and it's even bigger now after hearing you say it was amazing and tough."

Greg was quite for a minute, "You mean you can actually talk with Gastly?"

Sasha nodded.

"That's the first I have heard of anything like that. Could I talk to him?"

"I guess you could try." Sasha answered.

Greg cleared his throat, "Hi Gastly, this is Greg," he was talking very monotone and slowly, like he was talking to a young child, "There is a very wise proverb that I think you would do well to learn."

Gastly floated to where he could see Greg's eyes in the rearview mirror.

Greg smiled, "Pride precedes destruction; an arrogant spirit appears before a fall. It's from very ancient book and it has been true for all who are full of themselves. Make sure you realize that alone you are weak, but if you work together with others, nothing is impossible."

Gastly looked at the cabby for a few minutes.

Sasha waited to see if Gastly would say anything. Finally, his thoughts floated over to her.

"_Pride brings destruction_." Gastly was quiet for a few minutes, "_Bah_, _the master would not have chosen me if I was not the best he could send_._ You stick to transporting humans and leave the important things to your betters_." He then turned his back on the driver's seat.

Sasha was just about to tell Greg what Gastly had said, when he began to laugh.

"I don't need a translator to understand what that response was," he said through his laughter, "Gastly, you better wake up before something happens to you. Life has a way of waking you up rather abruptly, and it will be a rude awakening, trust me."

The cab pulled up in front of the Pokémon Center. Greg, Sasha and Gastly stepped out of the cab and made their way inside.

"Why don't you two go talk to Nurse Joy up at the desk. I'll go call Amy and see if she can stop by." He started walking to a line of phones in the corner by the front door.

Sasha nodded and walked up to the front desk.

A young woman sat behind the desk typing away at a computer. She wore a white nurse smock, a white nurse's hat. She had pink hair which had two large strands of hair pulled back into loops. She also had big blue eyes filled with kindness, but also filled with determination.

The woman looked up as Sasha approached, she quickly stood and smiled warmly, "Welcome to the Vermillion City Pokémon Center. You are a new face around here. I'm Nurse Joy what can I do for you today?"

"Um, well my Gastly is hungry and so am I …but…" Sasha's voice fell silent. This was the first time she had ever had to tell somebody she had no money. Giovanni had explained to her that it was best if she not make it known she had survived as it could bring unwanted attention from whoever had killed her parents.

Nurse Joy stepped out from behind the desk and knelt in front of Sasha, placing two soft hands on her shoulders, "It's ok, Let's get you and Gastly taken care of, ok?"

Sasha nodded and looked up into Nurse Joy's smiling face, "Thank you." She said quietly.

Nurse Joy winked and stepped back behind the desk. Her hands flew across the keyboard for a couple seconds then a door opened from behind the desk.

Nurse joy stood up and walked towards the door, "Come on Gastly, let's get you checked out and fed."

Gastly glanced at Sasha for a quick second then floated through the doorway.

Nurse Joy turned to Sasha, "Go ahead and have a seat. I'll have food brought out to you."

Nurse Joy motioned towards the row of booths set up against the glass wall looking out at the street.

Sasha nodded and took a seat, sliding her backpack off and stashing it under the table.

Sasha did not have to wait long until a Chansey, wearing an apron and a nurse hat, came walking up with a plate full of food.

Sasha said thank you and the Chansey happily skipped its way to the back.

Sasha immediately dug in. The food she had been given while with Giovanni had been minimal at best, as if he wanted to make sure she knew that she would not be staying.

Greg came walking back over and slid into the booth across from Sasha.

"You have quite the appetite. It's good to see a young girl eating something other than a salad or a shake. These young girls around here barely eat anything nowadays." He commented. Greg gazed out the window, lost in his thoughts.

Sasha felt bad for not saying anything, but the food was delicious. Before she knew it, her plate was clean and she felt much better. She looked up from her plate to see Greg smiling at her.

"What?" she asked, with a shy smile.

He chuckled, "It's just good to see you smiling. You looked pretty exhausted when I picked you up in Lavender, like you hadn't had a good night sleep for a couple days. Now I'm not one to go asking about your personal life, so you can keep quiet about all that if you want. Just remember to take care of yourself, even if things get really bad."

Sasha nodded. She liked Greg, reminded her of her grandfather before he passed away. Her grandfather had been the last of her extended family as far as she knew. Her parents had not mentioned any other family members to her.

"Amy should be here shortly. I told her where you would be sitting and what you looked like, but unfortunately I have to get back to work. Cab fares won't collect themselves you know." Greg scooted out of the booth and stood up, "You take care now Sasha. Good luck with that Gastly of yours."

Sasha smiled and waved as Greg walked out and got back into his cab.

Then a familiar voice drifted into her head.

"_They really know how to treat a Pokémon of my caliber here_."

Sasha rolled her eyes and looked towards the front desk.

She saw Gastly and Nurse Joy walking out of the back room. Gastly had a content smile on its face.

Nurse Joy walked up to Sasha and smiled, "Your Gastly is very well behaved. I'm very impressed on how well you have trained him. He is very healthy, although he seems a bit lazy, but other than that everything checks out."

Sasha glanced behind Nurse Joy at Gastly, "Well, he is very lazy and tends to have a big head."

Nurse Joy giggled and walked back to the front desk.

Gastly glared at Sasha, "_Of all the nerve_…"

Sasha ignored the rest of Gastlys rant as she was sure was filled with plenty of negative remarks regarding her.

Just then something big blocked the sunlight from outside the glass wall.

Sasha turned just in time to see a black semi and trailer slowly roll down the street.

Sasha quickly jumped out of her seat and scooped up her backpack.

She turned to Gastly, who was still ranting about her impertinent comments, "Let's go!" she whispered quickly, pointing out the window.

Gastly looked out the window, "_Finally_,_ the faster we find these trucks the faster I can get back to the master and be rid of this young human_."

Sasha quickly walked out the front doors with Gastly floating behind her.

"_My name is Sasha_," she thought to herself, annoyed at Gastlys choice of words.

Sasha took off running after the truck and trailer, while Gastly disappeared back inside the golden Poké Ball.

"_Sorry Greg_," she thought to herself as she quickly left the Pokémon Center behind.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Dangerous Dilemma

Sasha was running out of breath as she raced after the black semi-truck and trailer.

"_Oh, please don't be much farther_," she thought as her lungs began to burn.

Finally she saw the trucks break lights and a right turn signal. The trailer disappeared around a corner.

Sasha made to the corner to see the semi stopped at a security gate.

The semi driver and the security officer talked for a few minutes. The driver handed the security guard some papers. The guard began looking the papers over. Another guard stepped out of the guard house followed by a dog-like creature.

Sasha quickly pulled out the PokéDex from her pocket and activated it.

The device gave a slight hum and then let off a small chime. The female robotic voice then began its explanation.

"Houndoom, an evolved form of Houndor, is a quadruped, canine Pokémon that is mainly black with a long orange snout and an orange underbelly. It has small, red eyes and a black nose. Around its neck is a white band with a small skull-shaped pendant on its throat. There are two white bands on each of its ankles, as well as three rib-like ridges on its back. Houndoom has a long, skinny tail with a triangular tip and three clawed toes on each paw. On top of its head is a pair of long, curved gray horns. These horns are smaller on the female than the male. Houndoom's eerie howl is said to cause those who hear it to shudder in fear."

The Houndoom began sniffing its way around the exterior of the truck with the security guard following behind. The pair finished their inspection and the security gate was raised, and the semi rolled through.

Sasha had been peering around the corner of a building, which appeared to be a warehouse of some sort, when the semi-truck was let past the security gate. Suddenly Gastly jumped out with a furious look on his face.

"_What are you waiting for_?!_ The master said to follow those trucks_!" Gastly's enraged thoughts filled Sasha's head.

"No, wait!" Sasha called out, but Gastly was already moving to follow the truck and trailer.

Sasha's voice alerted the Houndoom who turned toward her voice, its tail slowly moving back and forth. The two security guards also turned toward her voice. The Houndoom lowered its head and barred its fangs. One of the security guards shouted something and the Houndoom rushed at the oncoming Gastly.

Gastly just kept going forward, seemingly oblivious to the dark hound rushing at him full speed.

"_Must obey the master_,_ must obey the master_." Sasha could hear Gastly repeating those words over and over.

The Houndoom then jumped into the air and seemed to disappear.

Gastly finally slowed when the other Pokémon disappeared. He looked around with a confused look on his face.

Houndoom then appeared behind Gastly and, with dark smoke beginning to slowly drift out of its mouth, its jaws closed on the Gastlys form.

Gastly let out a piercing cry and turned towards the Houndoom.

Sasha noticed Gastly seemed to be having trouble staying in one place. Instead of hovering, Gastly seemed to be slowing working very hard to stay above the ground.

The security guard who had come out with the Houndoom had had gotten closer.

"Houndoom, Ember attack!"

The Houndoom released a small ball of flame and it collided with Gastly.

The ball of flame exploded into tiny flame fragments and Gastly slowly sank to the ground, the gases slowly beginning to dissipate.

"Stop! Please stop!" Sasha cried as she took off running towards the pair of Pokémon.

The security guard didn't seem to notice Sasha running towards the battle as he gave his Pokémon another command.

"Alright Houndoom, finish it off."

Liquid fire began dripping out of the dark canines' mouth.

"Now finish it off with Fire Fang!"

Sasha dove and landed over Gastly, who now just resembled a purplish ball with only a few puffs of gas lazily drifting off him.

The Houndoom gazed down at the young girl who was now blocking his prey.

The first security guard ran up, "Hey! That's enough!"

He pushed the other security guard back towards the checkpoint, the Houndoom spat the flames that it had been gathering in its mouth onto the cement, which left the cement black, and followed the guards back to the checkpoint.

"Gastly, Gastly wake up." Sasha whispered.

Then she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up to see the security guard who had stopped the fight.

"Miss, you need to leave. You have no business being here," he looked down at the fainted Pokémon, "And you better get to the Pokémon Center. Not a good idea to mess with these Johto guards. They take their jobs very seriously."

Sasha nodded and held out her necklace, Gastly disappeared.

The guard sighed, "I am really sorry about this. Things have gotten strange ever since those guards arrived on that new ship and those black trucks showed up…" his voice fell silent like he realized he had said too much.

Sasha had an idea. She stood up and smiled at the guard, who appeared to be actually pretty young.

"Why would they need more guards if they already have guards like you here?" Sasha asked.

"Oh, well, they just have some really expensive cargo I guess. It's nothing that I haven't handled before." The guard puffed up his chest a little.

Sasha looked behind the guard and could see three large ships. One straight back and two that were on the left and right hand sides of the cement docks.

"Wow, so you guard those big ships? Seems like an important job." Sasha said, with big eyes and a shocked look on her face.

The guard beamed, "Yea, it is a pretty important job. See that ship right there?" he pointed toward the ship on the left, "That's the S.S. Anne. It was salvaged and is being repaired after it sank a couple years ago. The one straight back, the S.S. Kaijo, that one is from Johto where all the new guards came from."

"Wow…sounds like you have a tough job. Well, I guess I'll let you get back to work. Thank you for your concern." Sasha gave him a smile and started walking away. She was just about to turn the corner when the guard called out behind her.

"Miss, wait just a second."

The guard came running up, "Here, use this on your Gastly. Just be sure to tell him to stay away from places he is not supposed to be."

He handed her a pink spray bottle with an orange top.

"Hope this Super Potion helps. Maybe I'll see you around?"

Sasha smiled, "Yea, maybe you will. Bye!"

Sasha walked around the corner and kept going for a little while to be sure she was not far enough away then ducked down a small alley. She quickly held out the ball Gastly was inside and he popped out, still lying on the ground. Sasha quickly took the bottle and started misting the potion all over Gastly.

After a few seconds Gastly started stirring, while there was still no gas appearing around him like before, he did appear to be waking up.

"Gastly?" Sasha whispered, "You ok?"

The ghost Pokémon slowly opened its eyes; confusion covered its face for a second before he finally focused on Sasha. He stared at Sasha for a few minutes before the eyes closed again.

"Gastly? Hey, are you ok?" She asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

Gastlys eyes stayed shut.

Sasha sat down next to him, not sure what to do or say.

"_I failed_," Gastlys sad thoughts slowly drifted into Sasha's head, "_I tried to do my masters bidding and I failed_."

"What are you talking about?" Sasha asked, confused, "We just got here. You can't just expect everything to go the way you want it to right away. Things take time, especially something like this. Like my mom always said, 'You can't grow a garden, without first planting the seed'."

Gastly let out a coughing noise, "_You wouldn't understand_. _ The master expects only the best of the best_ _and I failed_," Gastly opened a single eye and looked at Sasha, "_And I do not understand that, 'You can't grow a garden, without first planting the seed'. If you would have acted we could have completed the masters' mission_." He closed his eyes again.

Sasha scrunched up her face, a little annoyed at Gastlys obvious disgust with having to work with her.

"Well, for your information, Mr. Gas-for-Brains, after you charged after the truck and got knocked out I did some investigating of my own."

Gastly opened both eyes and looked at her, "_You did what_?"

"I just asked the guard some questions," she told Gastly what she had learned.

Gastly seemed even more awake now, "_Impressive, we must go back and make sure that it is the S.S. Kaijo._"

Gastly tried to move, but he could only get a couple inches off the ground.

"I need to get you to the Pokémon Center; you are in no shape to go sneaking around anywhere."

Gastly looked like he was about to protest, but he remained silent and just disappeared back inside Sasha's necklace.

Sasha began making her way back to the Pokémon Center. She pulled out her PokéDex and brought up her contact list. She scrolled until she found Mr. Sasaki and hit the call button.

After a few rings someone picked up but it was full of static.

"He…lo…is…someone…r…Hell…"

Sasha pulled the phone away from her ear as a loud burst of static came through the phone. She put it carefully back up to her ear.

"Mr. Sasaki? Is that you? I have some information about the mechas you sent me to find."

"That's…gr…Sasha…," the next few sentences were extremely garbled and covered with static until finally some words came through, "You are the…ly…on…that I can send…The H.P.L.I.S…found us…"

Sasha was confused, "H.P.L.I.S? What's that?" Sasha asked.

"Peo…res…sible…for…parents…" the call went dead.

"Mr. Sasaki? Mr. Sasaki are you there!?"

No answer.

Sasha pulled the PokéDex away from her ear and stared at it. The blue screen was blank; the call was no longer there. She tried to call back but her PokéDex stated that the device she was trying to reach is off or no longer functioning.

"_Terrific_." she thought, throwing her hands up into the air and slapping her thighs when they came back down.

Then she heard someone calling her name.

"Sasha! Hey, Sasha over here!" a girls voice came from down the street.

Sasha looked up from the PokéDex and saw a girl jogging towards her. Putting the PokéDex away, Sasha took a small step back, unsure of who this girl was.

The girl made it to Sasha and put her hands on her knees taking some deep breaths. The girl was about her height, tanned skin from a lot of time in the sun. She had bright blonde hair held back in a ponytail and blue eyes. She was wearing a bright pink tank top with what appeared to be a pink tube top underneath. She also wore a pair of blue jean short shorts with a pair of pink tennis shoes.

"Hey Sasha, its Amy. You met my grandfather earlier today." She girl said through taking a few breaths.

"Yea, I remember. Nice to meet you, how did you find me?"

Amy laughed, "Oh, it wasn't easy. Had to do a lot of asking around. Luckily you aren't wearing what a normal tourist would wear."

Sasha looked down at her sleeveless hoodie and jeans.

"It's the darker colors Sasha. Most people who are here for a while are wearing brighter colors like pink or orange."

Sasha nodded, "Well, I was just on my way back to the Pokémon Center. Gastly kinda bit off more than he could chew."

"Alright then, back to the Pokémon Center it is! So what did Gastly fight that beat him so bad?"

"A Houndoom." Sasha answered.

"Oh, wow. No wonder Gastly got beat. Houndoom is a dark Pokémon and can really do a number on ghost and psychic-type Pokémon. Read that in a book somewhere. My Pokémon could have beaten Houndoom though. He's also a fire type and my water Pokémon rock against fire…"

Sasha listened as Amy kept talking. The girl sure had a lot to say and spoke so fast you would think she would run out of stuff to talk about, she didn't.

They finally made to the Pokémon Center and Sasha walked up to the desk.

Nurse Joy looked up, "Oh, hello there again. What brings you back so soon?"

Sasha held out her necklace and Gastly appeared on the counter.

"Oh goodness," the nurse covered her mouth, "He looks pretty bad. What happened?"

Sasha explained about the battle with the Houndoom, leaving out the part of where she was exactly.

"Well, you need to be more responsible young lady. Your Pokémon look to you to keep them safe. Please be more careful next time."

Sasha was just about to defend herself when Amy spoke first.

"Of course, Nurse Joy. My friend here is just starting out and I'm going to teach her everything I know. She will be a Pokémon Master by the time I'm done."

Nurse Joy giggled, "Alright Amy. Make sure you don't forget your Pokémons check-up next week."

"I won't." She answered with a smile as she led Sasha over to a booth.

She sat down and Sasha sat down across from her.

Amy put her elbows on the table and put her hands up under her chin and stared at Sasha.

"You're pretty."

Sasha opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out. Amy's comment caught her off guard.

Amy laughed, "Well, I can tell you haven't been told that often enough. So what brings you here to Vermillion?"

Sasha was quiet for a second then answered, "Just wanted to look at all the big ships that come through here. I've never seen ships that big before."

"Then why would you go down to where they load the cargo onto the ships? You can go right down Main St. and see the ships up close."

Sasha shrugged, "I don't know the city that well I guess."

Amy smiled, "It's alright. You're with me now. I'll get you started in the right direction."

Sasha smiled. She liked this girl. She just wished things had been different and she would have met her before the fire. Maybe her mom would have even liked her too. Maybe her mom would have changed her mind about Pokémon training.

Sasha sighed, "_No point in 'maybes'. I'll never know_."

"Are you alright?" Amy asked.

Sasha quickly looked up, Amy had a worried look on her face, "Uh, yea. Yea, I'm fine. Just tired."

"Hmm," Amy looked at her for a few seconds, then her smile came back, "Well, what's your plan for tonight? Like, where do you plan on sleeping?"

"I…I hadn't really thought that far ahead."

"Well you are going to sleep at my place tonight. No arguing, it's already decided. I got some extra blankets and my couch can fold out into a bed. And, personally I think my couch is comfier than my bed. I know I may look young to own a house here in Vermillion, but I happen to have won quite a few competitions around here and work as a lifeguard too. The house isn't very big but its home."

Sasha smiled. She realized she could not say no, but she also realized that she had a job to finish.

"Alright, that sounds great."

Amy smiled and walked up to the front desk.

"Nurse Joy? You out here?" she called out.

The nurse poked her head out the back room, "Yep, what do you need Amy?"

"Sasha is going crash at my house tonight. Can we take Gastly and head out? You know I'll make sure he gets his rest."

Nurse Joy thought about it for a minute, "Well, As long as you promise no activity for Gastly till morning, it should be ok."

"Great! Alright Sasha, let's go!"

Amy went outside to hail a cab while Sasha retrieved Gastly.

The cab ride to Amy's house was uneventful, except for Amy's tutoring of Sasha in what she called "The art of Pokémon Training".

A few hours later, Sasha and Amy were sitting on the couch watching TV, Gastly was sleeping in the golden Poké Ball, and the news had just begun.

The reporter was a man in a grey suit that was standing in front of a crowd of people who were holding signs and who looked to be waiting on a speaker.

"I'm standing in front of a protest which has assembled next to a house which was reportedly burned down a few days ago, claiming the lives of Pokémon researcher Charles Sa-Rya and his wife and daughter. A group of Pokémon is being blamed for the attack, more specifically; a small group of Charizard who are now the prime suspects after investigators discovered several impressions resembling Charizard footprints and investigators have found no evidence pointing toward an electrical fire or even arson. This group behind me claims to represent the people who have suffered at the hands of Pokémon and are saying they have had enough. Right now we are waiting to hear what this speaker has to say."

There was movement behind the reporter as a man, pale skin, bald, had a goatee and was dressed in an expensive white suit with a red tie, walked up onto a recently built wooden stage.

The reporter quickly motioned for his cameraman to focus in on the man.

The man picked up a bullhorn and held it up to his lips.

"I stand here tonight, at the scene of a tragedy. Three lives lost because the world has been blinded by the extremely popular trend of…," the man looked like he was about to lose his dinner, "…Pokémon training. People have foolishly thought that Pokémon can be trained and controlled as pets and equals and as a result the true nature of Pokémon has remained hidden. Many times in the past, Pokémon have changed the climate, destroyed populated areas, left thousands homeless, and injured and killed hundreds others. It is time humans took control of this world. It is time that humans stand up and prove that we are the dominant force and that this is our world."

The people gathered were all cheering and applauding, soaking in every word that came out of the man's mouth.

The man smiled and continued, "I stand with all those who have lost loved ones to our so-called friends and give a warning to the rest of the world. Beware, things are changing and I am afraid that it is too late to do anything about it. I call on everyone whose eyes have been opened to join my organization for human advancement. The H.P.L.I.S, which stands for the Human Power Located InSide, welcomes all and will give support and aid to any who feel they are being threatened and oppressed by Pokémon."

Amy scoffed and turned the TV off.

"What a moron. I don't know what made him jump on the crazy train, but I hope no one listens to that bunch of crap."

Amy stood and stretched, "Well Sasha, I'm going to go to bed," she turned to look at Sasha, "Hey, are you ok? You look like you are about to be sick."

Sasha did feel like she was going to be sick. That man on the TV was responsible for what her life had now become. She turned to Amy.

"Where's your bathroom" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Down the hallway, first door on your left. There are towels in the closet if you need them if you want to take a warm shower or something."

Amy watched her new friend walk down the hall. She looked back at the TV for a moment, then shook her head and walked down the hallway to her bedroom.

Sasha closed the bathroom door and turned on the faucet, cupping her hands under the running water, she splashed the cool water on her face. She leaned over the sink letting the water drip off her face. The words of that man on the TV kept ringing in her ears. She wondered how many other "victims" there were who may have lost people because of that mans hatred of Pokémon.

She looked up at her reflection in the mirror. There were deep circles under her eyes; she could not tell if the liquid still dripping off her face was water or tears. She knew what she had to do. Since she had not been able to reach Giovanni, she was going to go back to the docks and make sure she knew exactly where those mechas were and if she was able get ahold of the police so that the H.P.L.I.S could be stopped.

Sasha turned the light off in the bathroom and tiptoed into the living room. She unclasped her necklace and laid it down on the couch. She quickly found a pen and paper and wrote a small note telling Amy that she would return for Gastly and explain everything, and quietly snuck out the front door. She hailed a taxi and stepped inside. Sasha looked out the window at Amy's house until it disappeared from view.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The Cover of Night

The cab pulled away as Sasha started walking towards the Pokémon Center. Once the cab was out of sight she turned and headed down the street in the direction of the S.S. Kaijo docks.

"_Alright_, _you get in_,_ find the mechas_,_ find some way to stop them_,_ then get out_," she thought to herself.

Sasha mulled over that simple plan for a minute. It sounded simple enough, but she had no idea how she was even going to accomplish the first part of it. The moon was behind a thick layer of clouds, making recognizing landmarks very difficult. She finally recognized where she was when a few street lamps turned on at the next intersection revealing a sign that read "Cargo Shipment Entrance" with an arrow pointing to the right.

"_At least I know where I am_," She thought.

Sasha peered around the corner, the same warehouse that she had watched the battle between Gastly and the Houndoom from, and saw the security checkpoint.

A light was on in the guardhouse, but other than that there was no other activity.

There were a few lights hanging over the area directly in front of the gate, but the rest of the checkpoint was dark. The guardhouse was a small building with grey siding, with a door set in the middle and two windows, one on each side of the door. On the right side of the guardhouse was a tall chain-link fence that stopped once it reached the warehouse wall.

Sasha slowly made her way closer to the small building. She could hear a voices coming from inside, but she was unable to determine if it was coming from a TV or multiple people inside. She finally reached the guardhouse and could make out the sound of a popular late night TV show. She slowly crept up to the window and peered over the bottom edge.

The inside of the guardhouse was bare except for two metal-folding chairs, a small table, a mini fridge, and a TV sitting on the table. The chairs were occupied by two guards, one of the guards had a pistol in a holster on his hip, and a Houndoom lay on the floor asleep.

Sasha crept back over to the chain-link fence and found her shoes were small enough to fit in between the chain links. She carefully pulled herself up using her hands, the wire pressed hard against her skin, and she put the toe of her show through the fence. Her first step caused the whole fence to shake and, what she thought, make a lot of noise. She froze for a few seconds, waiting for the guardhouse door to open and the guards to come rushing out and catch her, but nothing happened.

Sasha took a deep breath, "_I really hope that TV is turned up loud enough_."

She felt like the fence was going to throw her off at any time with each step as it shook violently, but she managed to make it to the top. Her muscles were screaming but she could not stop, if she fell it would definitely alert the guards, or at least the Houndoom. Sasha swung a leg over the top of the fence, uncomfortably straddling it, and carefully swung her other leg over the top. Then the top of the fence began to bend.

"_Oh no_,_ oh no no no_," her heart sped up as a chill raced up her spine.

She quickly let go with one hand and tried to lower herself, but the fence kept on bending. Finally it had bent so far that she was hanging from the fence by only her fingers. Glancing towards the guardhouse, she could see a door and one window. Thankfully, the window was on the opposite side of the door from where she was. Sasha took a deep breath and let go of the fence.

It was only a few feet to the ground, but the sound of the fence springing back upright and hitting metal support poles was extremely loud.

Sasha hit the ground, but lost her balance and fell. She quickly got back up and raced across the cement pier and hid behind stack of large metal pipes. She pressed herself up against the heavy pipes and tried to catch her breath.

The guardhouse door opened and a powerful flashlight turned on and began sweeping the area. After a few minutes, the light was turned off and the guard went back inside.

Sasha let out a deep breath and looked around.

The pier had piles of different types of equipment lying around as well as forklifts and cranes for loading cargo onto the ships. There were also semi-trailers lined up next to the three ships that were currently docked.

Sasha slowly got to her feet, making sure there was no one around and started making her way towards the black outline of the S.S. Kaijo at the end of the pier.

The pier was generally deserted except for the occasional dock worker or security officer walking by performing their duties.

Sasha hid from them easy enough, as the only point of access was the security gate. The sides of the pier were raised high off the water's surface and made any attempt at access from the water impossible, except for maybe special equipment.

Sasha finally walked past a large pile of equipment and the S.S. Kaijo was right in front of her.

"_So far so good_," she thought to herself, "_But now what?_"

Before her lay a cleared area of equipment and cargo, a security officer stood next to the gangplank, a few security officers and dock workers were standing around a much bigger ramp which appeared to be used to drive forklifts and other big vehicles into the ship.

Sasha could not see into the ships interior, the large spotlights illuminating the dock blinded her. She ducked her head back behind the forklift she was hiding behind and tried to think of a way onto the ship. Then a voice shook her out of her thoughts, making her heart skip a beat.

"Hey you! What are you doing sitting down instead of working! Thought you would catch a nap on my watch eh!?"

Sasha quickly looked up and a barrel chested man wearing a yellow safety helmet, reflective vest, no shirt underneath, and jeans stood towering over her. Sasha swallowed hard and opened her mouth, but for some reason could not make any words come out.

The man snorted and bent over, he grabbed her arms and lifted her to her feet.

"Where's your vest and helmet!?" he growled.

He looked around until he discovered a vest and helmet lying underneath the forklift. He picked them up and shoved them into Sasha's chest.

"Ouch," Sasha cried, as she brought up her hand to rub her chest.

The man laughed, "You better stop complaining and get back to work before I throw you off the pier. I'll let the fishes have ya!" he gave Sasha shove towards the cargo ramp, "Hey, hey Jerry! Get this worthless piece of crap working or it will be you who gets tossed into the ocean!"

Sasha stumbled into the open area, her face turned red when everyone stopped to look at her. She quickly put the vest and safety helmet, which was way too big for her, and started walking towards the cargo ramp.

Another man, she guessed he was Jerry, came walking up to her.

"I've never seen you before. You new?" the man asked coldly.

Sasha nodded keeping her head looking at the ground, causing the helmet to slip over her face.

The man lifted the helmet up, "You must be, your helmet and vest look terrible. The bosses probably don't expect you to last too long."

Jerry turned away and started walking onto the cargo ramp.

Sasha quickly followed, keeping her head down. As she disappeared into the bowels of the ship, she could hear the dock workers laughing and talking about trouble the "new girl" was in.

Sasha followed Jerry through the cargo hold. The hold was illuminated by lights way up on the ceiling, which did very little to light up the darkness.

Jerry stopped next to a steal cabinet and opened it up. Inside were reflective vests and helmets of all sizes. He quickly looked back at Sasha then back at the cabinet and chose a vest and helmet.

"Here, take these. You may not last long, but I don't want to be writing an incident report because a forklift driver or crane operator didn't see you. Report to the hold foreman, he should be somewhere in the cargo bay. He will be wearing the red helmet."

Jerry took the old helmet and vest from Sasha and dumped it into the cabinet and walked away.

Sasha watched him go and once he was out of site, she started to follow. She had to find the semi-trailers. Where she was at, there was nothing but shipping containers. She walked past a more of the shipping containers until she reached the end of the row and she could now see rows of semi-trailers. Sasha did not have to look very until she spotted a couple guards standing around a line of black semi-trailers. She started walking up to them, in hopes that the guards would ignore her, but one of them stepped in front of her.

"No one's allowed to approach these trailers unless specifically given permission from the captain or shift foreman," the guard looked her over, "I have never seen you before so you have no business being near these trailers. Move along."

Sasha said nothing but kept walking past the trailers. She could feel the guard's eyes on her until she went around another trailer. She walked turned and walked back towards the shipping containers until she found a spot where she could see the black trailers.

Sasha stood next to the containers, trying hard to think of something. After a few minutes she took off her helmet and hit the shipping container with it. The impact shook the helmet from her hand and bent her wrist backwards.

"Ahhh," She hissed as she held her wrist.

Then something banged against the interior of the shipping container causing her to jump back.

Sasha looked around, no one had seemed to pay any attention. She looked back at the trailers, the guards were talking amongst themselves.

The shipping container quivered as another impact hit the container.

Sasha walked around to the front of the container, still holding her wrist, and pressed her ear up against the metal door.

Something big was breathing heavily inside the container.

Sasha looked at the bottom of the container and could see the bolts holding the container door closed, they were not locked.

Sasha knelt down and pulled up on the bolt. It slowly inched its way up, creaking every time it moved. She finally got it all the way up. She tried pulling the door open, but it wouldn't budge. Sasha stared at the door trying to figure out why it wouldn't open, and then she noticed another bar at the top. Taking a deep breath she jumped grabbed hold of it.

It didn't budge.

Sasha shook her body, the bolt slowly started to move. She bounced and the bolt moved a couple more inches. She bounced again and the bolt cleared. To her surprise the door she was hanging onto began to move. She quickly let go and went around to the other side of the door, pulling on it to keep it from hitting the container next to it. She was sure the noise would attract some attention. Managing to slow its movement, the door did hit the container but it simply bounced off with a single clang of metal on metal.

Sasha let out a sigh of relief; sweat had formed along her hair line. She quickly wiped her forehead with her sleeve and stepped around the door to look inside the container.

Inside was very dark, a large shadow was huddled near the back, but the low lighting in the cargo bay made illumination of the interior of the container impossible.

Sasha pulled out her PokéDex and tried to use the blue glow as a light, but it did not reveal much. Then her PokéDex buzzed and made a chime sound.

"Charizard, the Flame Pokémon. Charizard is a Flying and Fire-type. When competing in intense battles, Charizard's flame becomes more intense as well. This Pokémon flies in search of powerful opponents to battle, and its fire will burn hotter as it gains experience. Its fiery breath is capable of melting boulders, massive glaciers, and has been known to accidentally cause forest fires. Charizard typically inhabit mountains and valleys." Dixie's voice chimed.

Sasha almost fell backwards in her attempt to back away quickly. Her back was pressed up against a shipping container as she stared into the darkness, waiting for the Charizard to appear and incinerate her, but after a few seconds with nothing appearing Sasha slowly stepped toward the container. She could feel hot air wash over her every time the Charizard let out a breath. Her heart was racing as she took a few small steps into, then her PokéDex lit up.

Lying on the ground, curled up with its tail wrapped around itself was a Charizard. Its blue eyes looked glazed over and the flame on its tail was extremely small.

"Oh no," Sasha cried, as she covered her mouth with her free hand.

Then she noticed a thin tube with some sort of liquid attached to the Charizard's tail. She looked to see where the tube went and discovered some sort of machine pumping the liquid into the Pokémon. There was a small screen that read out a time and a percentage. She guessed the machine had just started pumping the liquid as it still read 92%.

"What are they doing to you?" she asked, looking at the Charizard, knowing she would not receive an answer.

Sasha examined the machine closely and found a paper attached to it with a warning.

"To Be Operated by Authorized Personnel Only! This Pokémon is currently sedated for transport; any attempt at unauthorized access will result in immediate termination- Captain Dominique, H.P.L.I.S"

Sasha felt her face get hot. She quickly pulled her reflective vest off and found where the tube was connected to the machine. She quickly pulled it out and the machine pumped the liquid onto the floor.

The Charizard gave a slight shudder but did not move.

Sasha backed away and looked around. The cargo bay was full of these shipping containers. She quickly went over to the next one and pulled the lock bars out of the way and opened the container. Holding her PokéDex up she felt a tear run down her cheek.

"Charmander is a bipedal, reptilian Pokémon with an orange body, though its underside and soles are cream-colored. It has two small fangs visible in its upper and lower jaws and blue eyes. Its arms and legs are short with four fingers and three clawed toes. A fire burns at the tip of this Pokémon's slender tail, and has blazed there since Charmander's birth. The flame can be used as an indication of Charmander's health and mood, burning brightly when the Pokémon is strong, weakly when it is exhausted, wavering when it is happy, and blazing when it is enraged. It is said that Charmander dies if its flame goes out." Dixie, the PokéDex, explained.

The shipping container was full of them. All were chained together.

Sasha looked around and found a button on the end of the large chain. She pressed it and, with a loud clang, the clamps fell open releasing the Charmander.

"I don't know what these people want with you, but if they are holding you all like this, it can't be good." Sasha said to the Charmander, who kept staring at the chains then back at Sasha.

Sasha quickly moved on and started opening every container she could. Some Pokémon she recognized, others she did not, all of them had been sedated and were unable to move. She had forgotten all about the black semi-trailers.

She was so focused on opening another container she did not notice the security guard walking up behind her, gun drawn.

"Freeze!" the guard ordered, "Step away from the container with your hands up!"

Sasha froze and felt her heart flutter. She was in big trouble.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Within the Fiery Furnace

Sasha slowly began to back up, the sweat from opening up all the containers now sent chills racing through her body. She could hear the security guard talking into his radio.

"I have a possible stowaway in the cargo bay. Caught her trying to open one of the containers."

Sasha couldn't make out the garbled response.

"10-4," the guard replied to whoever was on the other radio.

The guard turned looked back at Sasha, "Turn around, real slowly."

Sasha obeyed.

"What are you doing here?" the guard asked, he slightly lowered his gun.

"Um, well, I um…" Sasha couldn't think of what to say.

"Time to go young lady. Do not try to run; my companion here will make sure you do not get away."

Sasha recognized the guard's companion, a Houndoom.

The canine bared its fangs and slowly walked toward her, growling. The Houndoom also had some sort of pack that hung on its side.

Sasha tensed. She couldn't give the guard any ID. If H.P.L.I.S discovered she was here, who knows what they would do.

The guard saw her hesitation, "Mam, don't do anything stupid. I'm not going to hurt you. I simply asked for some form of identification. Just show me a driver's license, passport, even a PokéDex if you have one."

Sasha could feel the sweat running down her face. She didn't know what to do.

The guard whistled and the Houndoom came even closer to Sasha, liquid fire starting to drip from its mouth. The ground scorched every time the fire fell to the ship floor.

Sasha took a step back.

"Stop!" the guard yelled.

The Houndoom leapt into the air and pinned her to the ground with its front paws.

Sasha was too terrified to move as the flaming liquid fell from the Houndoom's mouth onto the floor on both sides of her head.

"Do…not…move." the guard ordered, his voice was very serious.

Sasha had no problem with obeying that rule.

The guard walked over and patted Sasha down. He found the PokéDex and activated it.

"Authentication Code Required." The PokéDex stated.

The guard looked at Sasha, expecting her to give him the code.

Sasha had no idea what the PokéDex was talking about.

The guard could see Sasha was not going to say anything.

"This is Unit 115. The stowaway is being noncooperative. My K9 currently has her in custody, but I am unable to get any ID from her."

There was no response from the radio.

The guard spoke into his radio again, "This is Unit 115, Base do you copy?"

A roar echoed throughout the cargo bay caused the guard to jump and bring his pistol back up again.

"This is Unit 1…Unit 115, does anybody copy." The guard's voice had a hint of worry in it.

Suddenly the radio exploded with voices. Static and voice ran over each other. Not a single word came through.

The guard tore his earpiece from his ear and dropped his radio on the ground. He looked around, but all he could see were the shipping containers. Then he realized that a few of the containers were open. He looked back at Sasha.

"What have you been doing? Did you open these containers!?"

The guard walked over to Sasha and pointed his gun at her.

"Alright, I want you to very slowly roll over onto your stomach and…"

Sasha saw a blur of a giant tail as it slammed into the guard which sent him crashing into a nearby container.

The guards, limp, body crumpled into a heap on the cargo bay floor.

The Houndoom snarled and spun around, ready to face this new foe.

It all happened fast Sasha had no time to react. When the Houndoom had spun around, a small bit of the canines spit splashed on her cheek. Sasha quickly spun over, onto her stomach, screaming as her cheek burned. She used the collar of her hoodie to try and make it stop burning but it did not help. A roar brought Sasha's attention back to her surroundings.

The shipping container in front of her bounced and scraped across the ground as something big struggled on the other side.

Sasha scooted backwards on her elbows as tears ran down her face from the pain in her cheek. Her arm brushed the crumpled form of the guard. She turned towards him and realized he was dead.

His head was at an odd angle, blood seeped from his mouth, nose, and ears. His eyes stared straight ahead at nothing.

Sasha felt herself getting sick. She turned away from the dead guard and emptied her stomach. Once she was finished, she found her PokéDex lying next to the guard; it looked like it had escaped damage.

A loud metallic groan turned her attention back to the struggle happening somewhere behind her.

She turned around just in time to see the Houndoom come flying over the container and landing right in front of her.

The Houndoom whimpered then lay still.

Sasha leaned back against the container, trying to catch her breath, when another whimper came from the fallen Houndoom; this whimper was quieter and softer. Sasha froze, afraid the dog would get back up and attack her, but the whimpering continued and the Houndoom did not move. She slowly crawled toward the fallen Pokémon and could see that something was moving inside the pack.

A few more muffled whimpers and whines came from the pack.

Sasha quickly crawled over, located the zippered opening and zipped it open.

A small pair of confused, red eyes peered up at Sasha.

Sasha was speechless. Then, her PokéDex chirped to life.

"Houndour, the Dark Pokémon. Houndour travel in packs and communicate though barks to surround their prey…"

The rest of Dixie's explanation was drowned out by another metallic groan and a roar that echoed off the walls of the cargo bay and shook the ground underneath Sasha. She looked up just in time to see a pillar of fire shoot up into the ceiling and explode.

The fire fanned out along the ceiling, picking up speed as it began eating up the oxygen. A few crew members ran out onto a catwalk, but they realized to late what was happening and the fire consumed them.

Sasha watched in horror as the burning crew members fell from the catwalk, disappearing into the maze of shipping containers below.

The pillar of fire stopped and the beat of heavy wings mixed with the sounds of the flames licking at the air.

Sasha's heart froze when she saw the creature responsible for the inevitable carnage.

The dragon Pokémon looked around as its gaze slowly drifted around the room. It finally focused on Sasha.

Sasha locked eyes with the Charizard. Its blue eyes blazed with hatred and rage. She saw the dragon take a deep breath. She scooped up the pack with the baby Houndour inside and ran. She glanced back just in time to see the Charizard unleash its hell fire. She quickly ran into the maze of shipping containers. Hoping the Charizard would not follow.

Unbeknownst to Sasha the Charizard's flame incinerated the guard and Houndoom's bodies then traveled along the floor until it reached a stack of crates and barrels. The following explosion shook the entire ship.

The explosion threw Sasha to the floor.

Metallic groans and the screams of those on board mixed together to create a horrific sound.

An alarm began to sound to add to the confusion as Sasha struggled to her feet and began, quickly, making her way to towards what she hoped was an exit.

The Houndour in the bag whimpered and whined, extremely confused at what was all going on.

Sasha raced out into a break between rows of shipping containers and looked around.

She could see others who were on the ship running along the catwalks above her. The catwalk ran along the aisle Sasha found herself in. She took off in the direction the other people were heading. Sasha could see what looked like a ladder up ahead. She quickened her pace and finally made it to the foot of a metal ladder that led up to a catwalk. Sasha quickly pulled the strap of the pack over her head so it wouldn't fall and started climbing. A couple rungs up another explosion shook the ship, almost making her lose her grip on the ladder. She turned around just in time to see flames spreading out along the ship bottom.

The fire moved along the top of some type of liquid. The Pokémon that Sasha had been able to free were running for their lives away from the fire, but they had no idea where to go. The fire overtook some while others attempted to hide. Behind the wall of flame the Charizard had not slowed its fiery fury. It was no beating its wings, hovering over the carnage.

"Don't come this way, don't come this way." Sasha repeated to herself over and over.

Then the Charizard beat its wings and tried to fly.

Sasha quickly began climbing again.

The Charizard's wing clipped the ceiling and got tangled in some chains hanging from a crane. The Charizard roared in agony as its momentum carried it forward and ripped its wing to shreds. The Charizard struggled to free itself as it one good wing worked to keep it level. The Pokémon unleashed its flame on what it thought was an enemy. The chains melted releasing the damaged wing, but the Charizard was unable to keep itself aloft. With a roar the Charizard fell, spinning because of attempting to fly on one wing, down into the inferno had created.

Sasha stared at the Charizard as it writhed in pain for a few seconds before it righted itself.

The creature looked around, confused for a moment, seemingly unfazed by the fire raging around it. It looked at its crippled wing and attempted to move it unsuccessfully. The Charizard angrily slammed its body into nearby shipping containers sending them flying in every direction. Some slammed into the hull of the ship, creating deep dents while others crushed fleeing Pokémon and humans. Finally it seemed to quiet down. The Charizard looked around at the devastation it had caused then slowly started walking towards the cargo ramp, which was no visible since the containers were no longer stacked on top of one another.

Sasha quickly started back up the ladder. While the Charizard seemed to have calmed down, the smoke and heat from the fire burning below had not. She made it to the top just when another series of groans rang out throughout the cargo bay. Sasha gripped the handrails as the groans grew louder. She looked around to see the hull bending inwards, weakened from the heat and shipping containers slamming into them, and water started seeping in through the rivet held steel support beams. Sasha quickly readjusted the pack strap around her neck and started walking towards a doorway that had a sign stating the main deck was this way.

The Charizard turned toward the new sound, only to see the support beams give way and water burst through the new hole. The water quickly mixed with the liquid that was burning and hot steam shot up into the air. The Charizard screeched when the water crashed into him, immediately extinguishing the flame on his tail. The Charizard disappeared beneath the rising water.

Sasha held on tight as the ship began tilting in the direction of the leak. She reached the doorway just as the ship lurched to its side, slamming her against the hallway wall. Her head spun as she tried to orient herself, but she discovered it wasn't her that was messed up, it was the ship. It had now completely listed on its side.

Sasha slowly began making her way towards another sign that said upper deck. It was tough going with having to step over the uneven surface of the wall which had pipes and wires and other things attached to it. Her foot would get caught; she would trip and then repeat the process as the boat shuddered from whatever was happening in the cargo bay behind her. She finally reached the end of the corridor, and then she noticed an orange glow casting her shadow against the corridor wall. She turned around and saw an amazing sight.

Whatever liquid had caught fire was not floating on top of the water and still burning. The water was rising fast and it was now starting to lap at the doorway leading up to the corridor Sasha was in.

Sasha quickly turned around and raced through the doorway. She made her way to a stairwell that lead up to the upper deck. She walked up the stairs and was met with a closed door.

"Oh, come on!" she said, exasperated.

She pulled on the door.

The door remained shut.

She tried turning the wheel that was in the center of the door. It felt like it had been welded in place. Sasha could feel the heat building up inside the corridor; looking back she could see the corridor below getting brighter as the fire got closer. She could not find anything that opened the door.

Suddenly another monstrous groan echoed throughout the ship, the ship shuddered violently.

Sasha was thrown to the ground and struck her head on something hard, everything went black.

A ringing filled Sasha's ears as the blackness slowly receded. Her vision was blurry as she slowly turned her head, which sent a spasm of pain through her body; she quickly closed her eyes and stopped moving.

"Ohhhh…" she groaned.

Something wet kept dragging itself across her face and she noticed a feeling of something pressing into her chest. She opened her eyes again, her vision slowly returning to normal, and noticed something was very wrong.

From where Sasha lay she could see the door, she had been trying to open, straight above her.

"What?" she asked out loud.

Something hopped up and down on her chest. Sasha looked down and found herself looking into the face of a Houndour.

The canine licked her face energetically.

"Oh, gross!" Sasha complained as she pushed the dogs face away.

She slowly raised herself onto her elbows and looked around.

She could see the closed door above her. She was lying on the edge of a hole, which she quickly realized was actually the corridor.

"_Oh…my…the ship is sticking up into the air_!"

Sasha looked around and spotted a patch of blood on a metal pipe, she guessed that was what she had hit her head on.

The Houndour walked up to the edge of the doorway and peered down.

Sasha quickly grabbed him and pulled him back.

"No, no, no…stay away from there." She said sternly

Her head pounded and her cheek still burned. She was glad there was no mirror around; she could not imagine what her face looked like. If it was anything like the state of her clothes, she definitely did not need to see anything.

Her hoodie was ripped in a number of places. One of the grey fuzz balls on the drawstring from her hoodie was gone. The hood was attached by only a couple stitches. Her jeans had fared a little better, but not much. The exposed skin from all the holes in her clothes was either bruised or cut.

Sasha held onto a few of the pipes above her and slowly pulled herself up. She had to hang on tight as the world spun wildly for a few seconds. Slowly, her vision became clear again; she worried what kind of injury she had from her rough introduction to that pipe on the wall, but knew that there was nothing she could do about it right now. Sasha looked up at the door and noticed a red handle hidden away behind a few pipes.

"_Why didn't I see that before_?" she thought to herself.

She reached up and pulled on it. It moved a fraction of an inch.

"Oh, come on!" she said, frustrated.

She pulled hard and the handle, unexpectedly, gave way. Sasha was not expecting the handle to give so easily. She lost her balance and stumbled backwards as a sharp hiss echoed down into the corridor.

The heavy door slowly opened outwards.

Sasha looked up to see the stars beginning to fade as the sun was close to popping up over the horizon. She looked around for the bag she had been carrying the Houndour, but found that a there was now a huge hole tore in the bottom of the bag.

"Did you do this?" she asked turned to the Houndour.

The Houndour cocked its head to the side, its tongue hanging out of its mouth.

Sasha dropped the bag down the corridor and looked for a way to climb up, and then she realized she did not even know if she would be able to get the Houndour up as well. She looked down at the Houndour, who looked back at her with innocent eyes.

"You expect me to have all the answers don't you?" she asked.

"Ruff!" Houndours bark echoed in the silent corridor.

"Sh shhh!" Sasha whispered.

The ship groaned and shuddered again as if to let Sasha know she needed to start moving.

Sasha quickly looked around for a handhold and found a few pipes that could serve as a ladder. She grabbed ahold of the first one, but quickly jerked her hand back. She was not sure if it was hot or cold, but she knew it hurt. She looked around for another way up, but all the other pipes were spaced out and would have increased the risk of her falling back down the corridor, which would not have been a pleasant experience. Sasha looked down at her tattered hoodie. She felt a tear slide down her face at what she was going to have to do, but she knew her dad would understand.

She, placed her backpack on the metal doorway, pulled off her hoodie and began pulled at a hole in the back until the hoodie was in two pieces. She then wrapped the two pieces around her hands.

The Houndour started whining.

Sasha turned to see him lying on her stomach and peering over the edge.

"What's wrong?" she asked peering over the edge as well.

From somewhere down below a dull bang echoed, a minute later, another bang, this one was a little louder.

The little Houndour started pacing, its whimpers increasing.

"Come on boy, step away from there." Sasha urged the whimpering puppy back away from the edge.

Then a weak roar echoed up through the corridor, followed by heavy breathing.

Sasha did not want to wait to see what was coming up the corridor. She turned to the pipe ladder and tentatively placed one hand on the pipe. She could still feel the heat, but it was bearable. Sasha made a mental note to make sure her chest and belly did not touch the pipes. Her bright green bikini top would not offer much in the way of protection. She placed her other hand on the next pipe and began pulling herself up. She looked back down to see the Houndour still staring down the corridor.

"Hey! Hey look up here. Pssss!" she whispered, trying to get the dogs attention.

The dog glanced up at her, but turned its attention back to sounds coming from the corridor.

Sasha's heart broke when she realize if the Houndour would not even pay attention she would have to leave. Her backpack Mr. Sasaki had given her was too small to put the Houndour in; it would probably end up ripping.

Then another roar echoed up through the corridor. The bangs were becoming more frequent now and the sound of heavy claws dragging across metal could be heard.

Sasha made up her mind. Houndour or no, she was not going to wait around for whatever was coming this way. Then, behind her, the Houndour began barking. Sasha did not turn to look just pulled herself up to the next pipe.

Another roar made the ship shudder.

Sasha gripped the pipes with all she had; careful to keep her exposed skin from touch the pipes. Sasha risked a glance downwards.

The corridor remained empty, but the sound of something approaching was obvious. Then a bloody clawed arm reached out from a side passage and planted itself, underneath the blood, orange skin could be seen.

"_The Charizard_!" Sasha gasped.

The Houndour began growling and barking, doing its best to warn the new arrival away.

The Charizard pulled its head through and looked up.

The Houndour saw the massive head looking up and changed its mind about where it was standing.

Sasha watched the Houndour as it looked around then up at her.

"Oh, no, no no…" Sasha tensed all her muscles as she realized what the Houndour was going to do.

The Houndour leapt up toward Sasha and dug its claws in.

"Eiiiiiiiee!" Sasha squealed as the Pokémons claws dug into her shoulders, the only small relief was that the Houndours back claws were dug into her backpack. Sasha tried to ignore the pain, through her tears, as another bang echoed up behind her and followed by an angry roar.

The Charizard forced its way through another doorway, with another bang and began forcing its way up the corridor, its blood soaked hide helped it slide through the tight corridor. The flame on its tail was almost nonexistent.

Sasha kept pulling herself up, her body was on fire, and the only thing keeping her going was the fear of being caught by the Charizard.

A breeze blew in through the open door.

Sasha sucked in the cool air as it washed over her aching body.

The Charizard must have felt it too, because Sasha could hear his movements become more desperate.

Sasha placed her hands on the open doorway and pulled herself up. Her arms shook with the effort but she managed to pull herself out and she rolled onto her back, gasping for air.

The Houndour hopped off her back before Sasha could roll on top of him. He walked over to the edge and quickly backed away, whimpering.

The sounds coming from inside the ship forced Sasha to try and get up. She got up on her hands and knees and crawled over to the edge where Houndour was whimpering. Sasha gasped when she realized how high up she was.

The ocean could be seen for miles around, ships of all sizes were at anchor a safe distance away as small motorboats and other watercraft zipped around the base of the _S.S. Kaijo_ picking up people in the water. A few helicopters, with spotlights, were flying in circles around the ship as well. One of the spotlights focused to where Sasha was at.

"Stay where you are! We are coming to you with a ladder!" a voice commanded over a loudspeaker.

Sasha and the Houndour watched as the helicopter slowly drifted towards them. Then she felt the ship underneath shudder. A series of bangs threatened to throw her off the ship.

"Please! Do not move!" the voice from the helicopter urged.

Sasha held up her hands, "I'M NOT!" she yelled.

The helicopter drifted above her and a rescuer in an orange jumpsuit was being lowered towards her.

Just then the doorway behind Sasha exploded with molten metal and smoke.

Sasha screamed and cowered as low as she could.

The Charizard forced its way out of the opening and spied the helicopter hovering above him. He tried to unleash his flame, but nothing would come.

* * *

The helicopter pilot noticed the Pokémon start to walk towards his helicopter the same time the crew member dangling on the line began to scream to be pulled back up. He tried to pull away from the ship but something jerked the helicopter back towards the ship. Then he heard his fellow crew member pleading over the radio.

"No please, no, no, no, NO!" the radio went dead.

The pilot tried to pull away again, but the line must have gotten caught on something.

"Captain! That Charizard has ahold of the line, Dixen…he's…he's dead…" a crew member shouted from the back of the helicopter.

The Captain cursed, "Detach the line! Detach the…"

The helicopter suddenly swerved and started flying straight for the ship's hull.

"We're going down!"

* * *

Sasha looked up just in time to see the Charizard rip her would be rescuer in half. Blood rained down around her.

The Houndour quickly hid underneath her, terrified.

Sasha watched as the Charizard pulled on the wire connected to the helicopter. The helicopter attempted to pull away, but then came flying back and exploded into a ball of fire against the ship's hull.

The helicopter wreckage tumbled down the hull and slammed into the Charizard. The flaming wreckage carried the Pokémon over the edge, down towards the frothing waters below.

Sasha stood and, holding the terrified Houndour in her arms. A wave of dizziness washed over her.

* * *

Down below, rescuers on the decks began screaming as the ship started to lean in their direction.

"LOOK OUT!" a police officer shouted, "IT"S FALLING THIS WAY!"

* * *

Sasha's vision swam as the ship began to move underneath her. Then suddenly, the ship was gone. Sasha felt the wind whipping past her as nothing but the turbulent water filled her vision. Then blackness enveloped her.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The Voyage

_ Sasha was running through the forest, fear gripped her heart while cold chills raced up and down her spine; running from something she could not see but knew was there._

_Tree branches scrapped across her face and caught on every piece of clothing, threatening to trap her and feed her to whatever was behind her._

_She ran on, only it felt like she was running underwater._

_Something crashed through the trees behind her. Loud cracks reverberated around her as the sound of trees being snapped in half and crashing to the ground filled her ears._

_Sasha glanced back and two huge red eyes were inches away from away from her face she closed her eyes and screamed. When she opened them again the eyes were gone and in front of her now was her house._

"_A dream…th-this has to be a dream." She told herself._

_She stood completely still, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. She took a few small steps toward the house and the front door opened._

_Her mother and father stepped out hand in hand, laughing. They noticed Sasha and waved._

"_Do please hurry inside Sasha. Your father has fantastic news and I have made your favorite for dinner: Chicken & Noodles, Mashed Potatoes, and Corn!" her mother exclaimed cheerfully._

_Sasha started to walk a little faster._

_Fire exploded out of all the windows and flames enveloped Sasha's parents as they smiled at her._

_The shockwave sent Sasha straight to the ground. She quickly propped herself up on her elbows and shook the stars out of her vision. She looked up to see her parents standing there, burning skeletons still waving, as the flames consumed them._

"_Mom! Dad! NOOOOO!" Sasha screamed as she jumped to her feet and ran towards them._

_Sasha was only a couple feet from her parents when their bodies fell to the ground, nothing left but charred bone and flesh. She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks._

_A loud exhale from something large and the sound of something heavy thudding against brick drew from above her drew Sasha's attention._

_She looked up and a Charizard looked down at her from atop the roof._

_The Charizard looked at her for a couple minutes, then drew a great breath and unleashed its fire._

_Sasha opened her mouth to scream as the flames washed over her._

* * *

Sasha screamed as she awoke from her nightmare, finding herself sitting up in a single bed covered with white sheets.

Then a warm body quickly pressed up against Sasha, while warm hands and arms wrapped around her as well.

Sasha didn't think, just cuddled as close as she possibly could to the comforting presence next to her.

"Shh, shhhhh," a comforting voice cooed, "It's alright, everything is going to be ok."

Sasha let the tears flow as held onto the only comfort she had had since her ordeal began a couple weeks ago.

The room was silent for a few minutes, until a slight groan echoed throughout the room.

Sasha quickly pushed away from her comforter expecting to wake up and still be on the S.S. Kaijo. She looked up and recognized Amy.

"What, what happened? Where am I?" Sasha asked, extremely confused.

"You're safe. Just calm down and I'll explain everything, ok?" Amy responded kindly.

Sasha took a few deep breaths and nodded.

"Ok, here is what happened" and Amy began.

* * *

Amy's dreams were filled with visions of swimming with her Pokémon and enjoying sunbathing on the warm beach when water washed over her.

"Gah…Wha? What's the big idea?" Amy sputtered as she struggled to wake up from her comfortably, deep sleep.

She rubbed her eyes in an attempt to get the sleep, and water, out of her eyes.

"HYAH!" a familiar voice attempted to get her attention.

"Staryu?! What are you doing?" she asked her star shaped, water Pokémon.

"HYAH, HYAH!" the Pokémon persisted.

Amy finally managed to clear her vision. She looked around and nearly jumped out of her skin when a large pair of eyes floated directly in front of her.

"Geez! Sasha was right when she said you no idea how to behave," Amy held her head in hands and let out a soft groan.

Staryu was the first Pokémon she had caught and she had been captivated by it immediately. She could still remember the day she brought it home and her grandfather had seen it. He had immediately cleared his throat and began strutting around the Staryu, acting like he was a scientist.

"Staryu is a golden-brown sea star-like Pokémon with five appendages. These appendages surround an exterior organ called the core, which is held in place by a golden ring looped around Staryu's left leg. If any of Staryu's appendages are lost, it can grow them back with ease provided the core is still intact. The core resembles a red jewel and is similar to a madreporite. Some people are interested in the red core as a type of jewelry."

Greg had then leaned down to peer at the Staryu's core.

Staryu had promptly sprayed water into his face and then returned to its Poké Ball.

"Gastly!" the ghost Pokémon sounded very anxious, "Gas, Gastly!"

"What's wrong Gastly?" Amy asked as she glanced at her clock sitting on a nightstand next to the bed, "It's very early in the morning and shouldn't you be asking Sasha for whatever it is you need?"

Gastly narrows its eyes, a tendril of gas reached out and wrapped around Amy's wrist.

"Wha?" Amy tried to pull away.

"Gastly" Gastly then floated towards the door, pulling Amy along with it.

"Ugh, Staryu! Help me," Amy gasped as she tried to pull against the gas tendril holding her.

Amy didn't understand how a ghost could hold her like this, but it was happening and there was nothing she could do about it.

The Staryu took a couple hops in her direction, "HYAH!" then returned to its Poké Ball.

"_Thanks a lot,_"Amy sighed.

Gastly wisped through the door.

Amy quickly opened her bedroom door with her free hand and followed Gastly down the hallway. When Amy finally stepped into the living room, she yanked and Gastly grip on her wrist disappeared.

"What is so important you could not wake Sasha…?" Amy noticed something missing.

Sasha was gone.

Amy walked around to the front of the couch, scratching her head.

"Where would she have gone? She isn't in the bathroom."

"Gaaastly."

Amy turned to see Gastly hovering over the necklace Sasha had been wearing lying on the couch. A note lay next to it. Amy picked it up and read it.

"Come back? Explain everything? What is she talking about?" Amy asked no one in particular.

She turned to Gastly, "Do you know what this is all about?"

Gastly was quiet for a minute, just silently staring at the note. The turned back to Amy and nodded its head.

"OK?" Amy asked, "Where did she go?"

Gastly slipped through the front door, leading outside.

Amy opened the door and turned on the front porch light.

Gastly was floating in the yard with a tendril pointed out towards the docks.

"Sasha went down to the docks?" Amy asked.

Gastly nodded again and began pointing in earnest.

Amy walked out, arms wrapped around herself since there was a slight chill in the air, and stood next to Gastly. She leaned over and followed to where the tendril was pointing. She could see three ships docked. Amy went back inside and grabbed her cell phone and hit speed dial.

"Eh, h-hello?" a sleepy voice answered.

"Grandpa? This is Amy. Sasha is gone and I think she may be in trouble. She left Gastly here with a note saying she would explain everything when she got back, but Gastly seems really agitated and worried. He seems to think she went down to where the cargo ships and ships undergoing repairs are docked."

A big yawn came over the phone, "I see. Well the young lady sure did look stressed when I was with her earlier. I came across something interesting today on the news that may shed some light on our new friend."

"Ok, that's cool, but we have to find her and make sure she is ok."

"Yes, of course. I'll meet you at your house in 10 minutes."

Amy hung-up and looked out over the moonlit water, wondering what the rest of the night would bring. She looked down at the couch and grabbed Sasha's necklace.

Greg pulled out his laptop as Amy sat down in the passenger seat of his cab.

"Here have a look at this."

Amy set the laptop on her lap and looked at the screen.

Greg put the car in drive and started making his way towards the docks.

"What am I looking at here?" Amy asked.

"A few weeks ago I remember seeing a story come over the news about a house in Lavender Town that mysteriously burned down, supposedly taking the lives of a family of three. Take a look at the daughter's name."

Amy read the news story until she got to the section she was looking for, "Mr. and Mrs. Sa-Rya also had a teenage daughter, Sasha, who is also assumed to have perished in the fire, although her body has not yet been located."

Amy thought quietly for a few moments, "Do you think it's the same Sasha? Could she have had anything to do with the fire?" she asked quietly.

"It may be the same Sasha, not 100 percent sure yet. I would say, no. The fire was definitely not accidental, but the way it happened it would take more than a single person to create the inferno that destroyed the house. Also the footprints surrounding the house are not human; although I don't know if I truly believe a Pokémon did this like that crackpot was saying last night."

"Well, hopefully we can figure out more when we find Sasha." Amy said quietly.

"Right," Greg agreed as he pushed the accelerator down a little closer to the floor.

A few minutes later, flashing lights caught Greg's attention is his rear view mirror.

"Shoot!" Greg slammed his hand on the steering wheel.

He slowed his cab, about to pull over when the flashing lights zipped past him.

The police cruiser accelerated away, its siren echoing off the buildings around it.

"Woooo, he's in a hurry." Greg stated, pushing the accelerator back down.

Amy was staring out the window when she noticed something wrong with one of the ships down at the dock Gastly had pointed toward.

Gastly, who was floating around in the back seat noticed the same thing.

"Gastly, Gastly, Gaaaassstly!"

Greg glanced back in the review mirror, "What's up with Gastly?"

"I think I know," Amy answered, "Look." She pointed out the window.

Greg glanced in the direction Amy was pointing a few times before he saw what she was talking about.

Flames were shooting out of a hole in the side of a ship.

"I see it, but I don't think we will be able to reach the ship through the docks." Greg explained.

"How are we gonna get there then?" Amy asked.

"Don't worry, I have an idea."

Greg picked up his phone and dialed a number. The phone rang a few times before a it picked up.

"Yea, what is it!?" a cranky sailor answered.

"Hey, Captain Stevenson! It's Greg. I was wonder…"

"GREG! What in the name of the seven seas are you doing calling at this time of night!" the captain's words slurred together.

"Sir, there is an emergency at the docks and I think there's going to be a need for water rescue."

The line was silent for a moment, "A…water rescue eh? Some fellow sea dogs be wallowing in the deep?"

"If not now, they soon will be." Greg answered.

"Alright Greg, I'll start making a few calls."

"Captain, I also have one more request."

"I won't be taking to the water meself there Greg. Been hittin the bottle since yesterday afternoon I have. You would be rescuing me within minutes if I tried."

"No, no Captain Stevenson. I actually have need for your boat."

"WHAT!?" the captain roared over the phone.

* * *

Sasha wiped another tear from her eye, "Doesn't sound like Greg got that boat."

Amy smiled, "Grandpa can be pretty persuasive. Not sure how he did it, I was barely listening, but he did it."

* * *

Greg put the boat on full throttle as the speedboat sped out of its dock and toward the burning ship.

A number of other boats were headed in the same direction thanks to Captain Stevenson, who decided he would monitor radio traffic to keep an eye on things.

Greg had told Amy it was more likely he wanted to keep tabs on his precious boat.

Within seconds, the ships radio came alive.

"Captain Stevenson to Pirates Booty, come in Pirates Booty."

"This is Pirates Booty. Everything is ship shape."

"Roger that, just see that it stays that way or it will be your booty that won't be ship shape! A heads up to all ships, the ship that is burning is the S.S. Kaijo and it is beginning to list, so be careful out there.

A number of ships acknowledged the warning.

The Pirates Booty sped along the top of the waves as it passed slower boats and was passed by others. A Coast Guard vessel sped past all the boats as a few helicopters buzzed by overhead as well.

"Alright, we are coming up on the S. S. Kaijo, keep an eye out!" Greg called from inside the cabin.

Amy stood out on front of the boat hanging on one of the safety rails as she looked up at the large ship.

Suddenly an explosion ripped a hole in the side of the ships sending flaming debris down onto the boats below.

The Coast Guard came over the radio, "All vessels get clear of the ship! It is extremely unstable and is taking on water fast. Reverse your boats immediately and stay clear!"

Greg did not reverse, but he did stop the boat.

"Amy! Do you see anything?" he called out.

"Not yet!" she shouted over the noise of the sirens and noises coming from the dying ship.

She could see a number of people running down the gang plank and others running out of what appeared to be a cargo ramp.

Another explosion rocked the crippled vessel and it began to noticeably move.

"Look out! The ship's beginning to tilt!" someone shouted over the radio.

Amy looked up and was horrified to see the ship beginning to lean backwards.

The very front of the ship began to lift up, revealing the underside, sea water still dripping off the bottom.

A half hour went by; Amy and Gastly were still on the front part of the boat.

Amy had a sinking feeling in her gut as she watched crew members and dock workers being pulled from the water. She had used her Staryu a couple times to help a survivor make it to a nearby boat a couple times, but still no sign of Sasha.

Gastly had not taken its eyes off the ship.

Then the S.S. Kaijo shuddered and stopped moving. The front of the ship was now pointed straight at the sky.

Greg monitored the radio traffic and when there was a break he would broadcast a description of Sasha. So far no one had seen anyone who matched that description. Word had been circulating among the survivors that there had been a stowaway on board, but the descriptions were so varied no one really knew if it was even true or not.

Then one of the rescue helicopter pilots came over the radio.

"Flight Rescue 1 to K.C.G Lapras."

"Go ahead Rescue 1."

"We have one young female trapped up here on the ship. Moving in for an in-flight pick-up, stand by."

"Roger that Rescue 1."

Greg leaned out the cabin window, "Amy! I think one of the helicopters found her! Look up!"

Amy immediately looked up, straining to see through the heavy smoke.

One of the helicopters flew in close to the ship and hovered. A member of the Coast Guard was then being lowered.

Then the ship shuddered again and it swayed back and forth.

Amy took a couple steps back, "Grandpa?"…she waited a few seconds, "Grandpa!?"

She looked back and he was leaning out the window with his hands holding headphones over his ears. He then threw them back into the cabin.

"Hold on!" he yelled as he threw the ship in reverse, full throttle.

"Ahhh, whoa!" Amy cried as she gripped the safety rails.

An explosion above her made look up. She saw a large fireball, then something big tumbled off the ship.

The flaming wreckage and a severely injured Charizard tumbled into the waters below and disappeared beneath the waves.

Everything was silent for a couple seconds as everyone just stared at the bubbling water where the wreckage had disappeared.

Then a scream echoed over the water from one of the other boats.

Amy looked up and the ship started to fall towards the dock.

People on the dock began screaming and running, some jumped straight back into the water, and others just stood there staring at the monstrous ship falling towards them.

Then Amy noticed something falling off the ship. She squinted as she tried to tell what it was, then her heart sank.

It was Sasha.

She quickly pulled out a Poké Ball, "Staryu, go!"

The Poké Ball flew into the water, it flew back to Amy and Staryu broke the water's surface.

"HYAH!"

Amy pointed up at Sasha falling, "Quickly! Help her!"

"HYAH, HYAH!" Staryu began spinning, and used its momentum to surge up into the air, with Gastly following.

* * *

The two Pokémon reached Sasha, and noticed another Pokémon cowering in her arms.

"_Alright Staryu, let's get these two to safety_."

"HYAH!" Staryu replied.

Gastly used its gas tendrils to grab ahold of Sasha in an attempt to slow her down while Staryu positioned itself underneath her and fired a jet of water at the ocean below.

Gastly felt them slowing down. He tried to head in the direction of the boat; it was tough going as Staryu was running out of water. Then he noticed the human's boat heading in their direction.

"_Almost, there…_" Gastly told Staryu.

"H…Hyah…" Staryu replied.

Then Staryu's water supply ran out.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaastlyyyy!" Gastly cried as he held onto Sasha.

Staryu dropped first and landed in the water.

Then Sasha and Gastly crashed onto the boat.

Gastly floated down onto the boat, an exhausted look on its face.

Sasha lay on the boat unmoving.

* * *

"Staryu, return!" Amy called as she held up her Poké Ball

Amy quickly crawled over and placed her ear next to Sasha mouth, she could feel Sasha's breath on her ear. She leaned back to sit on her legs and gave Greg the thumbs up.

The boat rumbled beneath her and turned back towards the safety of more open water.

Greg got on the radio, "Captain Stevenson, this is Pirates Booty. We are coming back."

* * *

Sasha was seated on the bed with her legs pulled up against her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. She looked around.

"Where are we now?"

"We are on a cruise ship heading to Johto, Olivine City actually. My dad knows the owner of the cruise ship and called in a favor. We are safe now. Although, we have some questions that I think deserve answering."

Then the door to the room opened and Greg stepped inside.

"Well, hello Sasha. Glad to see you are up and ok. Had the ship's doctor check you out earlier and you will be fine. No concussion or serious injury, just a lot of bumps and scrapes," he pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed, "Ok, Sasha. I'm not sure what kind of trouble you are in, but I think you need to tell us, starting with what happened in Lavender Town."

Greg was not sure if Sasha was the same one from Lavender Town, but when he saw her reaction, he knew he had guessed right.

"It's ok, we are here to help you. Just start at the beginning.

Sasha sighed and felt a tear run down her cheek, then she told them her story.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Deadly Cruise

Everyone was silent after Sasha had finished her story.

Greg was leaned back in his chair, silently pondering all he had been told. He was wearing a multi-colored tropical shirt and a pair of white shorts.

Amy sat next to Sasha with an arm around her new friends shoulders; it was starting to get a bit chilly in the room since all she was wearing was a loose tank top over her bikini.

Sasha still had her own bright green bikini on, although the top was now faded and dirty from her horrific time in the S.S. Kaijo, and what remained of her jeans. She was thankful for the close contact from Amy, as she sat, quietly, looking down at the bed sheets beneath her.

Greg cleared his throat and leaned forward in his chair.

"Well, from what you told me, I would be comfortable to say you are mostly innocent in all this chaos. Although you letting that Charizard free was definitely a mistake, those who were responsible for his imprisonment did not have good intentions," he stood and walked toward the door, "I think it would be safe at this point to bring in some help from the law. There should be an officer on board, or someone who could help you at least."

Sasha nodded and Greg walked out, sliding the door closed behind him.

A sharp pain burned through Sasha's cheek causing her to cry out in pain.

Amy lifted her arm off Sasha, afraid she had done something.

"You ok?" Amy asked.

"Yea," she answered after a sharp intake of breath, "Just my cheek. My PokéDex said if you get burned by a Houndoom, it will never heal."

"Yea, I've heard that too." Amy agreed.

She held Sasha's face in her hands, turning Sasha's head slightly. Amy lifted the gauze bandage away from Sasha's cheek and winced.

"Well, it definitely looks painful. Maybe I can get some pain medication for you. Let me go find that doctor and see what I can get for you."

Sasha thanked her and lay back on the bed.

Amy slid the door open and looked back, "Oh, here, catch," she tossed something towards Sasha.

Sasha caught the object and held it up, it was her necklace.

"Thank you," she said with a big smile on her face, she quickly clasped it around her neck.

"No problem. Oh, by the way, you got someone who has been dying to see you."

"Dying to see me?" Sasha asked, confused.

Amy smiled and slid the door open a little wider.

A black and orange blur bounded into the room and up onto the bed.

The canine yelped with glee as it put its front paws on Sasha's chest and started licking her face.

"Phhh! Ew, gross!" she sputtered as she turned her face away to escape from the Houndors happy tongue.

Sasha had never had a pet before and was somewhat shocked by the Houndors affection, but happy that someone seemed so excited to see her. She hadn't noticed the door to her room was now open.

Someone cleared their throat.

Sasha quickly turned toward the sound.

A man stood in the doorway, wearing what looked like a suit covered by a doctor's coat.

Sasha jerked upright, causing Houndor, to tumble onto the bed, "Uh, may I help you?"

The man chuckled, "My apologies miss. I did not mean to startle you. My name is Dr. Carlyle, I'm the ship's doctor for this trip. Just thought I would come by and check up on you."

"Oh, ok. I feel fine, except for my cheek. Still hurting pretty badly sometimes." Sasha explained.

"Ah, that is to be expected. A burn from a Houndoom never really goes away." The Doctor Carlyle said with a smile.

Sasha felt her heart skip a beat. How did the doctor know it was a Houndoom? If she remembered what Greg had said, the doctor had checked her out before they had learned anything.

"How, how do you know it a burn from a Houndoom?" she asked.

Carlyle was quiet for a second, but recovered quickly, "I have treated burns like these before. I know a Houndoom burn when I see it." The man laughed quietly, while putting down his bag.

Houndor stood on the bed its stubby black tail standing straight up.

The doctor took a few steps toward Sasha.

Houndor flashed its teeth and let out a low growl.

"Oh oh, don't worry young pup. I mean your trainer no harm. Just going to check on that burn of hers ok?" there was a slight edge in his voice.

Sasha looked at him for a second, "its ok Houndor."

Houndor hid his teeth, but he watched the man very closely.

The doctor's smile returned as he removed the bandage and looked closely at the wound.

"Hmm, there isn't much I can do about the wound itself. What I can do is give you some pain medication."

Sasha lifted an eyebrow, "But, I thought that's what Amy came to ask you for?"

"Yes, that is why I'm here." Carlyle smile looked strained as if forced in place.

"Um, that's ok. The pain seems too gone down. I think I'll be ok." Sasha said, slowly scooting away from the supposed doctor.

"I'm afraid I must insist young lady." The smile disappeared as he reached into his bag and pulled out a syringe filled with a clear liquid.

"No! I don't want any!" Sasha said, louder and more insistent.

"You are too great a risk, Sasha Sa-Rya."

Sasha jumped to her feet, her balance difficult to maintain on the bed, and tried to get as far away from the man as she could.

The man held the syringe in his hand, thumb ready to inject the liquid into his patient.

"Stay away!" Sasha yelled.

Doctor Carlyle reached for her. He grabbed her arm and jammed the needle into her arm. He smirked in victory as the girl tried to pull away. Then searing pain engulfed his face.

Sasha felt a prick in her arm, she turned to see the syringe jabbed into her arm. She tried to pull away but his other hand had her arm like a vice. Then a bright orange flash blinded her.

Sasha screamed again as she yanked away from her attackers grip. She lost her balance when she pulled away at the same time he let go. She tumbled off the side of the bed and landed hard on her side.

More screams filled the air as the man held his hands up to his face. The flesh was black and burnt. He fell to the ground screaming in agony.

Sasha pulled the syringe from her arm, half of its contents had been injected into her arm.

She threw it to the ground and the syringe shattered. A wave of dizziness washed over her and she placed a hand on the wall for support. Then a quick sharp pain in her leg ended the dizzy spell. She looked down to see Houndor pull away from her leg, a new set of holes in her holey jeans.

"Thanks boy." Sasha said quietly as she stepped through the doorway.

She found herself in a long hallway, with doors along each wall. Sasha chose a direction and started walking, with Houndor right next to her, his ears straight up listening for danger.

Amy found the doctor's office and pulled on the door. At first it wouldn't budge, but she managed to slowly slide it open. The light was off, so she felt around the doorway until she found the switch. She gasped when the light turned on and revealed what was in the office.

Papers, binders, pens, and other items were scattered all over the floor and desk, which sat in the middle of the room. The office chair that should have been behind the desk was lying on its side next to the desk.

Then Amy noticed the blood on the wall and on the exam table. She felt her heart leap into her throat as she took a few small steps toward the examination table. She could not see the source of the blood. She stepped further into the room. It was hard to follow the blood because of the mess on the floor, but she managed to figure out it ended in a closet. Amy approached the closet, but could not bring herself to open it. She took a step backwards and her foot got caught on something. She fell backwards and whatever she tripped on was caught on the door and the door came open.

A body in a bloodied suit slowly toppled forward out of the closet and onto the floor.

Amy squirmed away from the body, until she noticed that the "body" was trying to move. She crawled back over to the body and very carefully rolled the man over onto his back.

The man groaned and coughed up some blood.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Amy whispered quickly, "I…I don't know what to do."

The man slowly raised his hand and waved it slowly, then pointed at himself.

Amy thought she knew what he meant, but didn't want to think about it.

"What happened to you?" she asked, looking back at the door fearing someone would be standing there.

The man tried to answer, but only coughed up blood. With trembling hands he grabbed a piece of paper and began to move his finger around on it.

Amy didn't know what he was trying to do and was just about to tell him to save his strength when he shoved the piece of paper up toward her face. Amy jerked her head back quickly. She looked down at the dying man who just stared at her with dull eyes. She took the paper from his hand; the man's hand stayed in place, and looked at it.

The paper was smeared with blood.

Amy looked at it carefully, then noticed a definite pattern in one spot. She turned it over a couple of times, carefully looking at the spot, then realized it was a name.

"Is that who did this to you?" Amy asked quickly.

The man didn't respond, only shook his head "no" ever so slightly. Then the man's whole body seemed to relax and one last raspy breath came out of his body and he would not move again.

Amy quickly stood and backed away from the body. She shakily turned toward the door and came face to face with her grandfather.

Amy opened her mouth to reflexively scream but her grandfather covered it quickly.

"Shh, shh, shh. Quiet Amy, I don't know if the guy who did this is still here or not." He whispered harshly.

Amy held out the paper with a trembling hand.

Greg took at it and looked at it.

"Quickly, we have to get back to Sasha. Come on!"

Sasha stumbled down the hallway, she could feel Houndor pressing itself against her legs every time she slowed down, urging her forward. She pressed forward even though her vision had grown blurry.

A shout behind her drove her on faster.

Then a familiar voice popped into her head.

"_Well_,_ good to see you up and about_." Gastlys voice floated through her mind.

"Gastly…help me…I-I can't see." Sasha managed, finding out that talking was extremely difficult as her mind swam.

"_Oh, goodness_. _What have you gone and gotten yourself into now_?"

Gastly popped out of Sasha's necklace.

"_Wow_,_ you look terrible_."

Sasha didn't reply, just stopped and leaned against the wall.

"_Alright_, _give me just a minute and I will get you some help._"

Gastly disappeared through a wall.

Greg and Amy moved quickly down the hallway, zipping past a few passengers and ignoring the shouts from a crew member telling them not to run.

"Grandpa…what's…going…on" Amy asked between breaths.

"I'm sorry hunny, but it's a little complicated. Just trust me for now."

Amy was confused at first, but her grandfather had always been there for her, so she had no reason not to trust him.

The pair made their way past a couple more hallways, before Greg darted down one, nearly running into a man.

"Oh! Beg your pardon!" the man protested as he pushed Greg away from him. He quickly straightened and smoothed out his white suit and pushed past Amy.

Amy watched the man go, feeling like she had seen him somewhere before. She shrugged her shoulders and chalked it up to seeing him somewhere else on the boat. She quickly ran down the hallway to catch up with her grandfather.

Amy saw her grandfather duck into Sasha's room. She put on a last bit of speed and made to the doorway. She quickly put a hand over her mouth and gagged when she saw what was lying on the floor.

A man with a burnt face lay on the floor. His clothes were scorched and he was having difficulty breathing.

Greg knelt down next to the man and asked in a very firm clear voice.

"Where is Sasha?"

The man coughed and tried to lunge at Greg.

Greg easily evaded the man's grasp and the man across the face.

The man cried out in pain and lay still.

Greg looked up at Amy, "Could you step outside and close the door please?"

"G-grandpa, what are y-you going to do?" Amy asked, her lower lip trembling.

"Amy, please step outside. We need to find Sasha. Keep an eye out for her in the hallway." His voice was soft, but it held an edge Amy had never heard before.

Amy quietly stepped outside and slid the door closed.

A muffled shout came from inside the door, followed by the sound of something hitting the floor repeatedly. Silence followed for a few seconds, then the sounds continued for a couple more seconds, followed by a cry of pain and a whimper. A muffled conversation began, then complete silence.

Amy looked from left to right, but the hallway was deserted, most if not all the other passengers were enjoying the top deck or one of the many other amenities on board. Then the man they had run into earlier turned a corner farther down and started walking in her direction.

"Grandpa? Grandpa can you hear me?" Amy whispered through the door.

The door slid open, startling her.

Greg stepped through, gently moving Amy away from the door as he quickly slid it shut behind him. He pulled out his phone and quickly dialed a number.

Amy opened her mouth to tell him about the man in the white suit, but he held up a finger, silencing her.

The phone rang a couple times, then a man answered the phone.

Greg cleared his throat, "Sir, this is Greg, we have a situation here. I am going to need a team here as soon as possible."

The response was not loud enough for Amy to hear.

"Yes, sir. I currently do not know where she is. We have hostiles on the ship as I speak."

There was a sharp response from the man on the phone, then it went silent.

"Grandpa, what's going on?" Amy demanded.

"There's no time Amy." Greg stated as he started to move down the hallway.

"No time? No time for what? Who did you call on the phone? The police? The military? The captain?"

Greg turned down a hallway and kept moving.

"No, none of those." He answered calmly.

"Did you call your work?"

Greg nodded.

"Why would you call your taxi drivers job and talk like that on the phone!?" Amy was at a total loss, but she really lost it when Greg turned around with a pistol in his hand and pointed it at Amy.

"Amy, I work for Team Rocket."

Sasha was having trouble keeping her eyes open. A few people had walked past her, but they had not said anything, only whispered once they thought they were out of range about how stupid people were to get so drunk.

Finally Gastly returned, coming through the wall behind Sasha, frightening Houndor who had been watching the hallway and growling at those who came to close.

"_Turns out we are on our own for the moment young human_." Gastly stated, voice completely calm.

Sasha felt her heart sink, as blackness threatened to overwhelm her.

Then something gripped her firmly and pulled her upright.

Sasha's eyes jerked open as she found herself staring into Gastly's eyes.

"_This is going to hurt young human_,_ but I am going to try and suck some of the poison out of your body_."

A series of sharp pains stabbed through Sasha's body as she tried to pull away, but she was too weak. After a few seconds Sasha began to feel more awake, but the pain was increasing. Finally Gastly let her go and she crumpled to the floor.

Houndor barked up at Gastly, growling fiercely.

Gastly floated a bit further away. He still remembered his battle with Houndoom. While this Houndor was not at all intimidating, Gastly did not want to risk getting bitten.

Sasha felt her head clearing, she looked up at Gastly, "Why are you helping me? You don't seem to really care about me. Why are you even still here?"

"_The master sent me to protect you_, _to keep you alive_. _I follow the masters orders_."

Sasha was just about to tell him to go and jump off the ship when a shout from the hallway behind her drew her attention.

Two men in suits were running down the hallway toward her.

"Is that the help you were trying to get?" she asked Gastly

Gastly was quiet for a moment then moved so he was between her and the two men.

"_No_. _Run_."

Sasha started to move down the hall, slowly picking up speed, but still disoriented by whatever Gastly did to her.

Gastly faced the two men, who gave no notice to the Pokémon standing between them and their target.

Gastly waited till they were close, then filled the hallway with gas.

The men could not stop in time and ran straight into the cloud.

After a few seconds, Gastly cleared the cloud away and the two men were lying unconscious on the floor.

"_Weak humans_."

Gastly turned around and came face to face with a man in a white suit and a red tie.

"All Pokémon need to be eliminated. You will not take over this world creature!"

The man held up a small black box, a small red dot was sat directly in the center.

Gastly, confused stared at the man and then at the box.

"_Stupid human_._ You can't hurt me_."

"Oh, but your wrong monster. I can and will hurt you."

The box began to emit a high pitch whine and the red dot lit up.

Gastly looked at it for a moment, then blackness overwhelmed him.

The man stood there quietly, staring at the spot where the ghost Pokémon had been.

"I will defend this my world. Nothing, I repeat nothing will stand in my way."

The man turned and went in the direction Sasha had gone.


End file.
